The Crying Kamui
by Ceil Scheherazade
Summary: Something in him shattered when the Kamui was complete. Kakashi always thought that death might be painful... He just never thought that it wouldn't be his own death that would cause the greatest agony of all. A re-telling of the Invasion of Pain arc.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer:**I do NOT own _Naruto_; it's owned by the amazing Masashi Kishimoto! Much of the scenes in this chapter are from the manga (chapters 420-425) – and the anime as well (episodes 158-159). So if you haven't read/watched up to this point, then BACK AWAY because there will be spoilers galore ahead for you!

_**Kamui: **_the word that describes a spiritual or divine being in Ainu mythology; similar to the Japanese _kami_. There are numerous kamui: the Kamui of Death, the Kamui of the Sky, the Kamui of the Earth, etc.

Therefore, the title of this fanfic sort-of means "The Crying God".

* * *

**The Crying Kamui**

**Prologue**

"_Why are you looking at me like that? I _am _your _soldier_. Go ahead and do it!"_

A lone figure stood in front of the Konoha Memorial Stone despite the great downpour of rain from the heavens. If anyone were to walk by, they would immediately notice the slouched figure and the bowed head – body language that was screaming of an inconsolable grief and anguish. Yet the figure radiated such an untouchable aura that one can only watch helplessly as bittersweet and tragic memories ruthlessly pounded the shadow of a man.

But it was not just the aura that would cause one to stay away.

It was also _who _the enigma was.

Son of the Konoha White Fang, student of the heroic Yondaime Hokage, legendary wielder of the Sharingan, infamous and feared Copy Ninja...

...Hatake Kakashi.

"_Will you sacrifice Konoha for _one_ man? DO IT, Hatake Kakashi! NOW before it kills me anyway!"_

The surface of the Memorial Stone was more than familiar to his fingertips. Every day since the name of Uchiha Obito had been carved on the Stone, he would run his fingers through the names of his dead but never forgotten comrades. So many lost comrades yet _he _still remained.

It was his curse to live.

"_If... If you don't do it, I-I'll... I'll _hate _you! We're running out of time! ...So _please_!"_

Then, three years ago, a name that he had never expected to ever be written on the Stone before his own death was forever engraved on the heroes' memorial. The name belonged to a man who Kakashi expected to die in old age surrounded by his countless grandchildren. One day three years ago cruelly taught Kakashi that predicting the future was best left to the gods.

His fingers trembled as they hovered above the one name that never failed to amplify the agonizing and paradoxical combination of emptiness and despair that filled him...

**Umino Iruka.**

_A soft curling of the lips... A tender smile... Then..._

"Thank you,_ Kakashi."_

_

* * *

_

_**3 years ago...**_

_**

* * *

**_

It was getting worse. The destruction around him continued to increase in magnitude as the members of a group called Akatsuki barraged the village unceasingly from every direction with their great and diverse range of powers. Iruka knew he had to get to the frontline as soon as possible but an unmoving figure quickly caught his attention. His direction changed in mid-air and he landed next to a pitifully moaning fellow Leaf Nin.

"Are you all right?" he demanded as his gaze roamed over his comrade, searching for any fatal injuries.

A shadow fell over him.

Iruka immediately tensed and looked over his shoulder. A man stood over him wearing a black cloak decorated with a red cloud pattern. He had bright orange hair with multiple piercings on his face, including three bars through his nose, two through his lower lip, and six studs and a metal bar on each of his ears. His _hitai-ate _bore the insignia of Amegakure but with a horizontal slash through it. But what caught Iruka's complete attention were the Akatsuki member's eyes...

Each of his eyes possessed a greyish-violet iris and sclera. Unlike the Sharingan, which had _tomoe _swirling around the pupils, this man's eyes had a number of concentric circles that framed his pupils. Despite their oddity, the eyes still did what normal human eyes do.

They showed the emotion – or in this case, the _lack_ of emotion – of the possessor of the eyes.

"Where is the Kyuubi's vessel?" the man questioned, his voice deep. "If you don't tell me, I will kill you."

The words were said with the calmness of a person who has taken numerous lives without losing any sleep. Here he was, destroying the village Iruka grew up in and loved above all else with the exception of Naruto, and he was easily threatening Iruka's life in an almost bored tone.

"Tell me," the man commanded and Iruka's eyes narrowed in defiance.

"You'll never hear the answer to that question from me," Iruka declared, knowing that by doing so, he had just sealed his fate.

"I see... Then die."

Iruka didn't see it. One second he knew that he was about to be stabbed by something and then in the next, a tall figure partly obstructed his view of the Akatsuki member while the tip of a chrome-coloured pole was mere centimetres away from touching the space between his eyes.

"So that was just a distraction so that you could search without notice."

Iruka knew that voice and a mixture of relief and worry flooded through him – relief because he was granted a bit more time to live and worry because now, Hatake Kakashi had to face an undoubtedly powerful and strong opponent.

"Kakashi-san!" Iruka exclaimed as he got up from his squatting position.

Keeping his eye on the enemy, Kakashi commanded, "Take that injured man out of here and leave this to me."

"Yes," Iruka instantly replied before gathering the injured shinobi and slinging his arm around the man's waist to have a better hold of him. "Good luck, Kakashi-san."

Iruka immediately jumped away and headed for the hospital as fast as he could.

He sincerely prayed that Kakashi would win...

...If not, at least survive.

* * *

Kakashi gripped the chrome-coloured pole then twisted, causing it to break. Then the orange-head Akatsuki suddenly threw a kick aimed at Kakashi's head. As he ducked to dodge it, his fingers swiftly formed the seals needed for his first jutsu in the battle before he slammed his palms on the ground.

"Doton: Doryuheki!"

A wall composed of earth sprung up from the ground behind the Akatsuki. A new chrome pole formed from within the Akatsuki's sleeves before it impaled Kakashi's left shoulder. Taking advantage of the nearness of his opponent, Kakashi performed his signature jutsu.

"Raikiri!"

Kakashi's heartbeat suddenly quickened as his gaze was caught by his opponent's eyes. The Rinnegan was considered the most ancient of any dojutsu and before Kakashi knew what was happening, the Akatsuki moved his head out of the way of his Raikiri despite the speed of his attack.

The earth wall cracked at the force of the Raikiri. Kakashi's eyes widened in confusion at what had just transpired.

_What was that? _He thought in alarm. But before he could think of anything else, the man spoke.

"Copy Nin Hatake Kakashi. I am honoured to meet you."

Kakashi couldn't say the same and he jumped away, out of reach.

"Where is the Kyuubi?"

"That's a stupid question," Kakashi retorted as his right palm lit with a bluish-white light as he reignited his Raikiri.

He leaped back towards his opponent, his right arm ready to push forward to deal a fatal blow.

Again, his opponent's eyes widened fractionally for a second and suddenly, Kakashi was forcefully thrown back while the earth wall collapsed behind the black-clad man. Kakashi cried out as pain thundered through his whole body.

He could already tell that he might not survive.

* * *

The hospital was in chaos as the wounded, the heavily injured and the dying were constantly entering through the front doors. Nurses frantically ran around, trying to accommodate all the new arrivals while the doctors hastily yelled out orders and shifted from patient to patient. Iruka handed the injured man he carried to a trainee nurse who had been in the very first class he taught in. She gave Iruka a brief but strained smile as she helped him lay the man down on a mat on the floor. The beds were already filled before he even arrived.

"Please take care of him," Iruka told his former student. "Thank you for your hard work."

"Are you going back out there?" the young woman asked, her eyes showing her worry. Iruka gave her a small smile that probably did little to reassure her.

"I have to," he told her quietly. The image of Kakashi's back as he blocked the attack that would surely have killed Iruka flashed through his mind.

"Please take care," his former student pleaded before she began giving first-aid treatment to the man Iruka brought.

Iruka then quickly ran out of the hospital and headed towards the direction he came from.

* * *

Kakashi pushed away the wooden boards resting on his head and extracted himself from the rubble he had been buried under, slightly breathless. He immediately faced his opponent, who stood calmly right at the centre of the destroyed buildings.

_What was that jutsu? _Kakashi thought, bewildered. _It wasn't a shock wave. Everything around him was blasted away with him at the centre and being the source of it._

He leaped down from the rubble to the clear ground to get better footing as his left hand grasped his right wrist and a crackling sound began filling the air as his right palm lit up.

_Then let's see how you'll deal with this!_

The lightning in his palm formed into the shape of a wolf. With a growl, the lightning wolf charged at the Akatsuki member. Unfortunately, it dissipated before it even made contact with the enemy. Kakashi's left eye widened.

_He can not only repel physical attacks but ninjutsu as well? Impressive, _he thought begrudgingly. _What shall I do?_

Before he could finish that thought, he heard a loud *BOOM* from behind him. Spinning around, he saw that there was another black-cloaked monster of a man with six spikes protruding from the top of his bald head. Two bars protruded from each cheek while a horizontal bar pierced through his nose; there was a seventh bar jutting out from his chin. The man lips were curled in a disturbing smile.

_Another one? _Kakashi mentally cursed.

The newcomer's arm suddenly moved up and the lower quarter of his arm, including his hand, detached from the rest of the arm, allowing multiple grey poles to emerge. Each one fired a missile-like projectile. Kakashi quickly dodged, causing the missiles to hit the ground and scatter dust in the air. With his Raikiri crackling once more, he materialized behind the second Akatsuki and aimed his blow at the back of his second opponent's head.

_Got you!_

But to Kakashi's shock, the man leaned forward, making Kakashi completely miss.

_What? But he was facing forward!_

He then realized that the first Akatsuki he had been fighting was looking straight at him. Kakashi then remembered the advice Fukasaku-sama had given him.

"_Their eyes are linked so they have a shared field of vision. Therefore, you must fight them only one at a time. Each one has their own power so find out what it is if you want any chance of winning against them."_

_I don't exactly have a choice with the number of opponents, _Kakashi thought sardonically. _Yet Jiraiya-sama took on six of them at once. He really is something else. Just who is this Pain?_

The second Pain suddenly grasped his cloak as two more faces emerged at the side of its face. One had an angry expression while the other hand a blank look. He suddenly ripped his cloak from his body and Kakashi's eyes widened in shock at the sight of six arms and a broad yet flat saw-like metal tail.

That was when the first Pain lifted his arm and Kakashi felt a tremendous pull.

No matter how much he tried to fight it, he couldn't prevent himself from flying towards the two Pains.

_I get it! That's his power!_

Kakashi quickly reached into his pouch and took out a weight-tipped chain. He threw it behind him so that it wrapped around a piece of a destroyed building. He clutched onto the chain as firmly as he could.

_I can't defeat them on my own. I need to hold on and wait for reinforcements. I'll just have to do as much as I can before help arrives so I can let them know what his power is!_

The pulling force intensified and Kakashi grunted as he was yanked from the chain to fly towards the bladed tail of the second Pain.

He was impaled on the tail and blood sprouted from the wound. But his body suddenly transformed into light and the second Pain was electrocuted by the lightning shadow clone.

There was suddenly a loud whistle in the air and the first Pain quickly jumped out of the path of an explosive-tagged kunai.

The second Pain did not dodge in time.

A figure fell from the sky before skidding on hands and feet to face the fallen Pain.

"One to go," Umino Iruka whispered.

Kakashi extracted his true body from the rubble he had been thrown into earlier. He gave Iruka a disbelieving look.

"Why the hell did you come back?" he demanded of the Chuunin.

Iruka kept his eyes on the remaining Pain as he answered his superior. "I couldn't just leave you to face them alone, Kakashi-san. What would I tell Naruto?"

Kakashi's eye narrowed. "That you were smart and obeyed a superior."

Iruka finally allowed himself to look at Kakashi. To the Jounin's surprise, the Chuunin was smirking.

"'_Those who don't follow the rules are trash. But those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash.'_"

With those two sentences, Kakashi knew that he had been bested by this Chuunin for the very first time.

"Don't use my quotes against me," Kakashi retorted with a scowl. Iruka just chuckled before facing the younger-looking Pain.

Then to both the Konoha shinobi's dismay, the other Pain began slowly rising to its feet. Its skin looked a bit singed but that was it. The exploding tag didn't cause any lasting damage or fatal injury.

"What a monster," Iruka cursed.

"Want to quote me again?" Kakashi asked wryly as he bent his knees in a fighter's stance.

"I'll stick by your side, Kakashi-san," Iruka replied as his hands quickly formed the seals for Naruto's signature jutsu. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Four clones of Iruka emerged.

It made sense that Naruto would teach his beloved sensei how to do a shadow clone.

The four clones scattered while the real Iruka stayed with Kakashi. One clone threw a series of kunai rigged with explosive tags while another clone threw a dozen of shuriken which multiplied in number. The third clone performed Suiton: Taihoudan. The last clone threw a punch to the ground and to Kakashi's great surprise, earthy spikes blossomed from the ground towards the Pains.

But each attack, including each of the clones, was only pushed away, resulting in the clones puffing out of existence. As a bit of the debris cleared, Iruka threw four kunai towards the younger-looking Pain who was running straight towards them.

That was when Kakashi noticed that, instead of using that strange power once more, Pain dodged the kunai instead.

_That's..._

Wanting to make sure, Kakashi threw another kunai with a smoke bomb attached. This time, Pain used the pushing force once more but the smoke bomb allowed him and Iruka to hide for the mean time.

"Did you notice where the other one went?" Kakashi asked as they tried to catch their breaths.

"He stayed behind when that Akatsuki rushed us," Iruka replied. "Did you figure out their power?"

Kakashi nodded grimly. "With him as the epicentre, he can pull and push objects and jutsu towards and away from him. However, it seems he cannot use that power consecutively. There is an interval between each use, which we have to determine."

"So we can't get close," Iruka murmured in frustration. "And we can't forget about the other one."

"The interval between each use is short," Kakashi stated as his eye narrowed as he contemplated. "But I have a plan and I need your help."

Iruka nodded. "Just ask."

He just hoped that what Kakashi asked for would be something he could give since his chakra was being steadily depleted.

* * *

The Deva Path walked through the smoke caused by the earlier smoke bomb launched by Kakashi. The Asura Path followed him at a safe enough distance to prevent it from getting caught in the Shinra Tensei should the Deva Path require the use of it.

The ground before him suddenly rumbled and Kakashi exploded from the ground, a kunai aimed at the Deva Path's throat.

"Shinra Tensei."

Kakashi was pushed away from the Deva Path and slammed against the ground. Kakashi cried out as he bounced on the ground and landed on his side. The Deva Path approached calmly approached him.

"You move quite well," Pain complimented. "And you have a vast arsenal of jutsu at your disposal. If I don't kill you now, I will only cause avoidable problems for myself in the future." With that, another chrome rod formed from his sleeve.

_Now! _Kakashi thought.

Two humungous blocks of earth flew towards the Deva Path to sandwich it while water from a Suiton jutsu engulfed the Asura Path to prevent it from rushing to the Deva Path's aid.

"Too slow!" The Deva Path announced as he held his palms out and both slabs were thrown away.

Then spikes of earth launched from the ground to cage the Deva Path as Iruka emerged behind him.

_Hatake Kakashi's presence earlier in the ground hid the other one's presence! _Pain thought in surprise.

"Kakashi, hurry!" Iruka yelled as he staggered slightly due to intense fatigue. His chakra supply was nearly gone.

Kakashi's palms lit up with lightning once more as he ran to Pain. "Raikiri!"

But just as his attack was about to make contact, the disturbingly grinning Asura Path suddenly materialized in front of the Deva Path and received the attack instead.

Iruka gasped as he realized too late that the Asura Path had escaped his Suiton jutsu.

"_**Make it in time!**_" Kakashi yelled.

But it was futile. A couple of seconds later, the almighty pushing force that had become so familiar hit Kakashi with such merciless impact that he thought he would die from it.

Blood dripped from his mouth as most of his body was trapped in rubble once more. But unlike before, he could barely move even a finger. His breathing was intensely laboured but he fought to raise his head and look up to locate Iruka.

But the sight that greeted him was that of the Deva Path of Pain – unharmed, uninjured and untouched.

_I didn't make it._

Despair for his village began filling Kakashi. He did little to contribute to the protection of Konoha. He and Iruka had been able to bring down one Pain but five more remained... Five more monsters that were hell-bent on destroying Konoha until they found Naruto.

"Your inability to move doesn't seem faked," Pain commented as he looked down on Kakashi. "It also seems that you are the real thing, not just a clone. Now, you will die here but just in case, I shall keep my distance."

A nail embedded in a piece of wood lying in front of him came loose then went flying between the Deva Path's fingers. He aimed the tip of the nail towards Kakashi's forehead.

Scoffing, the Deva Path said, "Know pain."

The needle flew through the air and the Copy Nin's head was viciously thrown back...

The Deva Path then leaped away from the carnage to continue searching for the Kyuubi's vessel.

Kakashi slowly opened his left eye, cautiously relieved that his Kamui was able to stop the needle in time. He had to find some way to tell Tsunade what the Deva Path was capable of.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu."

With great effort, Kakashi looked up to see Iruka kneeling on the ground a few feet away from him beyond the body of the Asura Path. The Chuunin's breathing was irregular and breathing in seemed to cause him pain. A weasel stood in attention as Iruka quietly spoke to it. Iruka's summon gave him an affectionate lick on the face.

"Go, Yukari," Iruka commanded weakly. The weasel raced off.

"How persistent."

Kakashi and Iruka froze at the voice and to their horror, the Asura Path stood up. Both arms detached from his broad shoulders and a multitude of missiles were revealed... They were aimed at the fleeing weasel.

With a defiant yell, Iruka got up and gathered all his chakra and strength before slamming his fist down on the ground. The spikes formed once more to act as a cage to the Asura Path. Some spikes pierced through the missiles, causing them to detonate on the spot while other spikes pushed at the missiles, forcing them to point at different directions away from the weasel.

Then Kakashi watched helplessly as chains sprouted from the broken tail of the Asura Path and grabbed at Iruka. Iruka cried out as the chains dug into his skin, drawing blood. He was dragged to the Asura Path until they were face-to-face. The chains squeezed tighter and tighter.

"S-Sui-t-ton-" Iruka attempted to say.

"I doubt you have any chakra left to form water," Pain replied. "And there is no nearby water source."

Despite the pain in the Chuunin's eyes, his lips were able to curl into a smirk.

"Th-Think again, bastard."

The blood from Iruka's wounds gathered and formed dagger-like shapes. They then launched and embedded themselves on the Asura Path's chest.

"Kakashi!" Iruka yelled out weakly. "Hurry! Your Kamui!"

Kakashi's eyes widened as he realized what Iruka was trying to get him to do.

"No..." He whispered.

"Why are you looking at me like that? I _am_ your _soldier_. Go ahead and _do it_!"

_"They are no longer your students. They are my soldiers."_

Those were the words he threw at Iruka when the Chuunin had protested against Kakashi nominating Team 7 for the Chuunin exam.

He never before thought about how cruel those words were.

How could he use Kamui on the Asura Path when it held Iruka hostage? Iruka was too close! If Kakashi used Kamui, Iruka would surely get sucked into his dojutsu as well!

How could Iruka expect _him_ to take that risk?

"Will you sacrifice Konoha for one man? DO IT, Hatake Kakashi! NOW before it kills me anyway!"

Iruka was right. The Asura Path was already attempting to aim his missiles towards Iruka. Fortunately, Iruka's blood daggers seemed to be doing enough damage that Pain was having difficulty in directing the missiles' target.

"If... If you don't do it, I-I'll... I'll _hate_ you! We're running out of time! ...So _please_!"

How could Iruka be begging Kakashi to kill him? He could more than understand Iruka's reasoning and plea. Iruka hate him? He would rather risk that than kill a comrade.

It was at that moment that Kakashi truly understood why his father, the White Fang, had chosen the path that had ultimately led to his destruction all those years ago. How could he allow a fellow Konoha shinobi to die?

And Iruka... Iruka was precious to Naruto. How would he be able to face Naruto if he _killed _Iruka?

But if he didn't destroy the Asura Path, there was a chance that it could revive later and help capture Naruto and the Kyuubi...

...Then _all_ of Konoha's citizens would die.

So the best thing he can do for _Konoha_...

He stared intensely at Iruka. His vision was slightly blurry as his mind made a choice that his heart cried against. He thought that he had lost the ability to cry long ago but now, as his Mangekyo Sharingan was activated, he learned that there really was no limit to how many tears one can shed.

Although his dojutsu encompassed both the Asura Path and the Chuunin, Kakashi's eyes were fixed on the brown orbs that stared back at him.

A soft curling of the lips... A tender smile... Then...

"_Thank you_, Kakashi."

Something in him shattered when the Kamui was complete. He always thought that death might be painful...

But as his eyes closed for the final time...

He never thought that it wouldn't be _his own death _that would cause the greatest agony of all.

**A/N: **_**I was going to keep on going but then I thought that might be a nice place to end it... I know I missed a lot of things from the original such as (in the manga) Iruka informing Tsunade of Akatsuki's attack and of Iruka's encounter with Sakura (both in the anime and in the manga). Not to mention the whole re-writing of Chouza, Chouji and company's arrival as well as the chain of events concerning the Deva and Asura Paths. But I'm taking advantage of the fact that this is fanfiction, therefore, there you go! **_

_**This is the longest prologue for anything that I've ever written! In fact, it might be the longest chapter I've ever written... I'd be thrilled to receive reviews so please drop a comment or two please!**_

_**Thanks for reading!**_

**Ceil Scheherazade**


	2. The Withering Kamui

**Disclaimer:** I do NOT own Naruto; Masashi Kishimoto does!

**Warning:** More spoilers for the Invasion of Pain arc ahead!

**The Crying Kamui**

**Chapter 1**

**

* * *

**

_**3 years ago...**_

_**

* * *

**_

_Obito... Rin..._

"_Whatever the village may say... You are a great Jounin. I'm about to die... But I will become your eyes and see the future for you."_

_Obito, _Kakashi thought as the memory of those words flowed through him. Here, in this vast unending space, caught between the living world and the world of the dead, he could see his reflection on the pool before him with Obito's eye gazing at him.

_It seems this is as far as I go... I can no longer be your eyes for the future._

The image on the pool changed to show the young Konoha 12 with Sasuke included. Bittersweet memories filled him as he lamented the fact that he would no longer be able to see their growth – or in Sasuke's case, his salvation.

The image disappeared and he could feel himself sinking deeper.

_I wasn't able to protect Rin... I keep on breaking my promises to you... Then I broke your cardinal rule. _

He felt hands grasp his own ones and pull him upright. To his shock, it was Obito and Rin – and behind them was Minato-sensei. They were smiling at him but those smiles only made him feel dirtier than he already did.

_I _killed _a teammate in order to protect Konoha... I am worse than the lowliest trash... I don't think I have the right to ask for your forgiveness Obito... Rin... Sensei..._

But their smiles refused to fade even as they left him one by one. Kakashi couldn't make himself to plead with them to come back...

...He had no right.

_I don't think I'll ever be able to join you..._

Yet he slowly began walking forward towards the direction where his former teammates disappeared to. A soft glow suddenly caught his attention and the sound of firewood crackling reached his ears. He looked up and saw a lone figure sitting in front of a fire with his back turned to Kakashi.

"Kakashi, is that you?"

Kakashi's eyes widened in disbelief as the familiar voice flowed to him. Then remembering where he was – and what had happened to land him here – a small self-deprecating smile touched his lips as he thought about the perfect timing of this meeting.

"So this is where you were," he replied and then approached the man before sitting next to him on a piece of log.

"Will you tell me your story?"

"Sure," Kakashi replied, his eyes becoming distant as he searched through his memories. "It's a really long story so I want to take my time."

The man finally faced him. Kakashi couldn't remember the last time he saw a smile on that face.

"Yeah, that's fine," the man said as his smile widened fractionally. "Take your time and tell me everything."

Kakashi couldn't help but smile back.

"Well... _Father_..."

* * *

"I know this isn't the right time... But I need to ask you something. I learned to pick up on natural energy but there's something I don't get...

"I can feel everyone's chakra..."

The pause was heavy and took a moment... Because Naruto wasn't sure if he truly wanted to hear the answer to the question he was about to ask...

"Is Kakashi-sensei on a mission outside the village?"

Tsunade said nothing and that was all the answer Naruto needed.

"I see..." Another weighted pause. "And Iruka-sensei?"

The same wordless answer.

So it was like this...

All three of Naruto's beloved and precious senseis would be killed by a single man...

* * *

"...Then he smiled at me and said, 'thank you'. _Why? _Why would he say something like that when _I _killed him?"

It was a rhetorical question. Kakashi didn't really expect his father to answer it. After all, _how _would one answer such a question? _What _answer can one give to such a question?

"He thanked you because he knew that what you were about to do to protect your village would cause you a world of pain."

Kakashi's head snapped up as he turned wide eyes to his father. The White Fang of Konoha's eyes held neither condemnation nor disgust. In fact, they shone with pride – and sadness. But sadness for _him_... for what Kakashi was going through.

"That brave and courageous man thanked you because he knew that your actions would open up a dark and lonely path in front of you... Yet you still did what you did to save lives. You could have chosen to take the easy way out and stopped yourself from using your Kamui in order to avoid sacrificing a comrade. But if you had done that, the enemy would have killed him, then you... Then countless more others if it had the ability to keep on reviving.

"But you took the hard choice. And don't forget, son...

"You died for your choice as well."

Silence reigned once more but it wasn't as heavy as it was before. Sakumo's words offered some balm to Kakashi's bleeding wounds. Those words were enough to at least push him towards acceptance – that he truly had no choice. But he still wasn't wholly comforted... That might be impossible.

"Who would have thought that you and I would die so early? Not as early as your poor mother, though." Kakashi just nodded.

"Father, I've always wanted to ask you something..."

"Hmm?"

"Why did you, the Konoha White Fang, choose to abandon the village's code in order to save your comrades? If you had not done so, no one would have condemned you and you wouldn't have been so miserable. You were greatly respected but after what you did, you became hated. You were the butt of all the jokes..."

Kakashi remembered the frustration, helplessness and shame that his younger self had felt. "It made me so bitter."

"I see... You took it pretty hard, huh?"

Kakashi nodded. "Yeah..."

"You are stronger than I am, Kakashi," Sakumo said quietly with his eyes closed. Then a small sad smile appeared on his lips. "I didn't heed my own teammates' pleas to leave them and complete the mission for Konoha's sake. We lost so many that would have been saved if I had stuck to the code because I didn't make the choice you made."

Kakashi shook his head as he kept his gaze on the bright fire. He remembered what he told himself after Obito's death. What had he learned from his best friend all those years ago? If was ever given the chance to speak with his father in the next life, then he would say...

"I am not stronger than you, Father. Regardless of the outcome, I know you did the best you could. I can see that now and I have grown enough - and gone through enough - to understand you. You broke the code for everyone's sake. I am proud of you."

Sakumo gave his son a startled look. He wondered if Kakashi knew how much his words meant to him...

But knowing what his son had just been through... Knowing the cause of his son's death...

Yes, Kakashi must know how much those words meant to his father.

"Thank you."

Kakashi's voice shook slightly as he added, "I hope you can forgive your son for not being able to follow in your footsteps."

Without warning, a ray of light pierced Kakashi and engulfed him. He gasped out as an unknown force started tugging on him.

"What's happening?" he asked wildly as he grabbed at his chest. But whatever was pulling at him was invisible to him.

His father was calm as he regarded his struggling son.

"It looks like it's not your time yet; you still have things you need to do."

Kakashi held his hand out, reaching for Sakumo. "Father..."

Sakumo smiled. "I'm glad I was able to speak with you. Thank you for forgiving me... And Kakashi, there's no reason for you to ask for my forgiveness. I am very proud of you – more than words could say.

"Kakashi... Do not make the mistakes I made. Do not choose death as a way out of your suffering. If you ever feel like ending your life like I did that day you found me on the floor of our house, think of the lives that have been sacrificed to save yours. Do not waste their efforts or you'll be spitting on their memory.

"Remember the words of that young man who thanked you."

Kakashi felt a sting in his right eye as Iruka's smile flashed in his face. _Iruka..._

The light intensified until Kakashi could barely see the details of his father's face.

"Now I can move on and I'll finally be able to see your mother again."

Kakashi blinked and when he opened his right eye, the first thing he saw was a clear blue sky...

...The clear blue sky of the _living _world!

But that was impossible!

He quickly sat up and he was shocked to find that his muscles protested at the abrupt movement. How could they hurt if he was dead?

The only possible answer hit him.

He was _alive_.

"Kakashi too?"

"Kakashi-sensei!"

It was only then that Kakashi realized he was surrounded by Akimichi Chouza, his son, Akimichi Chouji, and Tsunade's summon, Katsuyu.

"What's happening?" Kakashi asked as he curled his fingers, testing how well he could move.

His injuries from the earlier fight were almost completely healed.

Chouji was crying beside him. "Thank goodness! I'm so glad you're all right, Kakashi-sensei!"

"I will explain everything," Katsuyu offered in her polite voice.

So she told him everything... About Naruto's arrival... About his fight with the five remaining Paths of Pain... About how Naruto took every single Pain down until only the Deva Path remained... Then how Naruto transformed into the Kyuubi in rage at the fall of Hinata at the hands of the Deva Path...

She told him about how Naruto was able to return to his usual self on his own... About Naruto finally defeating the Deva Path and searching for the true Pain – Nagato. Then she informed him that Naruto was able to persuade Nagato, Jiraiya's old student, to believe in him...

Then how Nagato brought all the villagers who had died in the attack back to life using an incredibly powerful technique called _Outer Path: Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique_.

Overwhelming hope filled him as he urgently looked around, trying to find a familiar bob of dark hair... trying to find that nose with a scar across of it... trying to find that face that could be angry at one moment then sheepish at the next then cheeky at times...

But...

"Iruka," Kakashi said anxiously. "Where's Iruka? Where is _he_?" His voice kept on rising frantically with each word.

_He must be __**alive**__!_

"You were the only one here, Kakashi-sensei," Chouji said with a frown. "Iruka-sensei wasn't here with you."

Then... Why...?

Kakashi's eye widened when a horrible thought struck him.

What if Nagato's technique only worked while the physical body was still present?

Or what if Nagato's technique only worked on those _he himself _had killed?

Iruka's body wasn't here anymore because of Kamui... And it wasn't Nagato who killed Iruka...

It was _Kakashi_.

As more and more joyful voices filled the air with every new life that was brought back from the dead, Kakashi continued to feel more and more numb.

Kakashi was alive...

...Iruka was still dead.

* * *

Hatake Kakashi, the Copy Nin, wielder of the Sharingan, master of a thousand jutsu, was unable to celebrate with the rest of the village. As soon as he was able to get up, he wore his hitai-ate, which suddenly seemed so heavy with his crime. He then searched for Naruto so that he could tell the young man all that had happened.

But when he saw Naruto's tired figure leaning on a tree bark as he tried to catch his breath, Kakashi realized that his news could wait. So he caught his former student when he stumbled and carried him on his back to Konoha where he received a hero's welcome. All the villagers had been eagerly waiting for Naruto's return. They had showered him with praises, with their gratitude and with their admiration. Kakashi allowed Naruto to have his moment of glory as he was finally acknowledged by the entire village. The village's children all wanted to be like him.

And as the villagers tossed Naruto in the air in celebration, Kakashi could only think of one thing...

_...If only Iruka were here to see all this..._

* * *

_**Present time – 3 years after the attack of Pain...**_

* * *

As Kakashi looked down on Iruka's name engraved on the Memorial Stone, he remembered Naruto's reaction to Kakashi's news. The Jounin had expected to be hit, punched, kicked, beaten, cursed at or spat on. But Naruto just became quiet and walked away.

He could still remember how later on, Naruto had approached him of his own volition. His words to Kakashi were destined to haunt the Jounin forever.

"_I've already lost two of my senseis and I'm not about to lose the last... especially while he's still alive. _

"_Besides, I can tell by the look in your eyes, Kakashi-sensei... What you did hurt you so much that you're punishing yourself when you don't have to. I don't need to add to that."_

Just like that, Naruto had forgiven him. Also, unlike what he expected, the village didn't blame him. Granted, they did not exactly thank Kakashi for what he had done; Iruka's absence created a huge hole in Konoha... especially among the younger generation. But unlike the time of Hatake Sakumo, when the villagers would easily point fingers at their chosen scapegoat, Kakashi was spared that condemnation and isolation. Naruto had truly changed the hearts of the citizens of Konoha and when they saw that Naruto was in peace with Kakashi, they followed his example. In fact, their forgiveness was so great that, when Kakashi had been nominated for the position of Rokudaime Hokage, the village had been prepared to accept him. Thankfully, Tsunade-hime had woken up from her coma.

But their lack of hatred did not alleviate the pain of the guilt and loss that Kakashi felt. As with Obito, Rin and his Sensei, Iruka's death by his hand had changed him irrevocably. He donned on the ANBU mask once more and threw himself at every dangerous and deadly mission he can get his hands on... And for three years, Tsunade allowed it despite his fatalistic outlook on life. Kakashi was still becoming stronger after all and he seemed to view the success of his missions as some form of compensation for the loss of Iruka...

Despite Uchiha Madara's announcement of his great plan shortly after Pain's attack on Konoha, he has not made any great move towards the fulfilment his plan. A huge blow was the fact that Kabuto, who had integrated a piece of Orochimaru within him, had joined forces with Madara. There were intense battles, yes, but none as great as Pain's attack on Konoha. It was as though they were biding their time. Still, as a precaution and for the sake of readiness, the shinobi alliance still existed. However, lately, it seemed that the battles were becoming fiercer and fiercer...

These battles were mounting up to _something_; everyone knew it.

But as to what that something is... That was the question.

There was no give away for her approach but Kakashi immediately sensed Yugao's presence anyway.

"Kakashi-senpai," she spoke from where she knelt respectfully. If he had been in his ANBU garb, she would have addressed him as "Hound-taichou". "Tsunade-sama wishes to see you."

"I'll be there," Kakashi replied and Yugao departed. He took one last look at the names of the ones who had made the greatest impact on his life thus far then went off to meet with the Godaime.

_See you later Obito, Rin, Sensei... _

_...Iruka..._

_

* * *

_

How should she go about this?

"_Konan told me that Amegakure will pursue Yahiko and Nagato's dreams with me. Regardless of the past, the Village Hidden in the Rain is now an ally of Konoha."_

Those were Naruto's words when Tsunade had hesitated about allowing a team of Ame shinobi to enter the gates of Konoha to learn more about their allies. Naruto was right. In this war, it was better to build friendships than to reject them at the risk of creating more enemies.

Sunagakure, Kumogakure, Kirigakure, Iwagakure, Takigakure and Amegakure... These villages were the official allies of Konoha. Although Amegakure redeemed itself in the eyes of the citizens of Konohagakure after Nagato's life-giving jutsu three years ago, one particular shinobi still couldn't handle the sight of their insignia...

...And she was about to send that particular shinobi to rendezvous with a team from Rain.

The last time Hatake Kakashi had been teamed up with Ame nin, their mission almost failed since he had ignored the existence of those shinobi. She could only imagine what his reaction would be when she tells him that she needs him to escort the shinobi he'd rather completely forget about through the gates of Konoha.

_He is going to hate me, _Tsunade thought with a deep sigh. She was truly too old for this. But despite all their confidence in Naruto, his future was still shaky enough that appointing him as Hokage at this particular time might do the village greater damage. He was also constantly away from the village and out in the front lines. After he had finally gained some control of the Kyuubi's chakra, the alliance agreed that instead of being hidden at _all times _Naruto could fight in the battlefield _every now and then_...

...which eventually turned into _more often than not_.

A familiar surge of chakra alerted her to the arrival of the one she honestly didn't want to face right now. Unfortunately, she might as well get it over and done with so that she could return to the sweet comfort of the premium sake waiting just inside her drawer.

"You summoned me, Tsunade-sama?"

Tsunade eyed one of the strongest of her elite. Hatake Kakashi had always emanated an air of aloofness and the lack of concern of what others thought of him. He always had that slouched figure, unkempt hair and that atrocious orange book his masked face was constantly buried in. He still looked the same as three years ago only his gravity-defying hair seemed to have lost its life. The silver hair no longer poofed up but hung limp around his face and on his hitai-ate, hiding the Konoha symbol from view. He obviously didn't care about the state of his hair, including the fact that an enemy's kunai had shortened some strands on the right side of his face, making the hair there slightly shorter compared to the left.

But Tsunade had learned long ago that no matter what she said, he only ignored her commands that he fix himself up...

...in more ways than one.

It was as though Kakashi's hair reflected the tormented emotional and psychological state he was buried in.

"I have a mission for you," Tsunade announced.

Kakashi just kept staring at her with his right eye, waiting for her to give him the details. It wasn't like Tsunade to hesitate from telling him what was required of him.

Suspicion suddenly curled in his gut.

"As you know, the shinobi force of Amegakure is not as impressive as ours-"

As soon as the word 'Amegakure' had left her lips, Kakashi had already begun shaking his head in protest.

"No."

"Kakashi-"

"NO!"

Tsunade stopped and studied the tense man before her. His whole form was as taut as a coiled spring, ready to strike if necessary.

She didn't realize he would react this strongly.

But she had to press him.

With a war about to get _really_ ugly just around the corner, Kakashi would have no choice but to work with shinobi from other villages – _including_ Amegakure. Therefore, she would rather get him to interact with Amegakure nin in a controlled environment instead of out in the battlefield where his personal issues might endanger his comrades and allies.

So she hardened her features and steeled her voice.

"Hatake Kakashi, you are to enter the Land of Rain and meet them at the border of Amegakure. You will then escort them to Konoha, where they will learn more about our village in terms of how we work together and treat our comrades and allies."

"No."

"Kakashi," Tsunade barked as she got on her feet. "This team is one of the strongest and most influential in Amegakure. If they see and learn how to appreciate the way we work, they can easily teach the other shinobi in their village about our will of fire. Amegakure's population is mainly composed of refugees from the previous war. Therefore, they learned the hard way to only look out for themselves. Allies who think nothing of us would be detrimental to us in this current war."

"Then we shouldn't ally with them."

Tsunade hissed in frustration. "If that were possible, I would have chosen that road as well. _But_ we need all the help we can get. Amegakure may have a tiny population compared to the Five Great Shinobi Villages but they have a number of talented shinobi. Also, the last thing we need is for them to ally with Madara once more."

Intellectually, Kakashi knew what she was trying to say – and he even agreed to her. But he still couldn't let go of his grudge against Rain... at least not yet. He might eventually as with the Iwa nin after Obito's death years ago.

But not right now.

"Why me?" Kakashi finally whispered. Why _him_ when she _knew_ how he felt about Amegakure?

Tsunade finally allowed a small yet sad smile to grace her lips.

"Because I can no longer just stand idly by and watch you wither away."

* * *

**A/N****: **_**I shall stop there for now! I found this chapter very difficult to write and I'm not sure if I wrote it well enough. And again, I changed a number of things with the original... Firstly, the interaction between Kakashi and Sakumo... Then the **__Outer Path: Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique__**. I know that this jutsu can bring back the recent dead **_**regardless of who killed them **_**but I needed to change it to fit with the plot. But as I said before, this is a FANfiction so there 'ya go!**_

_**I know I'm being evil to Kakashi in this fic... How I thought about this story started with the question:**_

What happens to the people who get sucked into wherever by Kamui?

_**So I began plotting and plotting then I thought... Well, to explore this question, I must chuck someone into the Kamui technique! Oooh... What about a loveable someone for great impact? Then... What about someone who'll fill Kakashi with such guilt? Oooh... What about... IRUKA? BUWAHAHAHA!**_

_**Ahem-ahem... *sigh*... *wipes tears of despicable mirth away* Oh gosh, I can be so **_**sadistic**_**...**_

_**Anyway! Thanks to my kind reviewers and readers. Thanks to those who added this story to their Favourites or Alerts list! Also thanks to those who added me as a Favourite Author! *blushes***_

Imperial Dragon_** – This chapter is dedicated to YOU, my very first reviewer for this story! Yeah... I'm so evil to Kakashi in this fic... Ah, I'm such a sucker for drama... Seriously, I can probably be a South American (or Filipino) soap opera writer... Thanks for your comment! =)**_

Prescripto13_** – Ahaha! Thanks! I'm surprised no one's cursing me yet for killing off two such loveable creatures... Ah, but I only got that from Masashi Kishimoto so there! LOL! Thanks for your continuous support! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!**_

eve_** - *blushes* Aww, thanks... I'm hoping that 'wow' is a **_**good**_** 'wow'? It's not a 'wow, you're so evil' or a 'wow, you must lack humanity to write something like this'? HAHA! Just kidding! **_

The-Lady-Smaell_** – Hi Milady! =) Yes! YES! I KILLED IRUKA! I killed Kakashi too! But the mangaka killed him first so I think I should be excused from that... **_**=P **_**I'm really glad you enjoyed the prologue. I think this chapter sort-of could've been in the prologue as well but I thought it would be much more dramatic if I stopped where I stopped. I had to invest a lot of effort into going back to the manga (and anime) to make sure I got as much detail as possible. I obviously added some things in and took some things out. Now I want to know what your reaction is for the ending of THIS chapter! As always, I get very flattered with your comments, which always brings a smile to my face. Thank you very much, Milady! =D**_

_**Again, please drop a comment or two to make this writer very happy!**_

**Ceil Scheherazade**


	3. The Kamui of Foreboding

**Disclaimer:** I do NOT own Naruto; Masashi Kishimoto does!

**Warning:** This may have some mild shounen-ai elements. Definitely nothing explicit. This _is _rated T after all.

**The Crying Kamui**

**Chapter 2**

"Wither away?" Kakashi echoed in disbelief. "I am absolutely fine."

Tsunade shook her head. "No, Kakashi. You _need _this."

"Like _hell_ I need it!" Kakashi hissed with a dark glare at his Hokage. "It's the last _damn_ thing I need!"

"HATAKE KAKASHI!" Tsunade roared as she slammed her fists on her desk. Kakashi didn't even flinch. "Don't you dare take that tone with me! I deserve your respect and you'll give it to me!"

Kakashi clenched his fists before closing his eye and taking a deep breath. There was no point in losing his cool. Too many people – Tsunade and Ibiki included – already thought that his grip on his sanity was hanging by the thread. He didn't need to give them any more reason to justify locking him up without the use of his arms in a white room with white walls and no windows.

He released the breath he had been holding and calmly opened his eye.

"Forgive me, Hokage-sama," he said with a low bow. Tsunade scoffed but settled down on her seat. "But you still _cannot_ expect me to just quietly take this assignment!"

"Konan is dead."

There was shocked silence.

Tsunade closed her eyes in quiet respect for the fallen Amegakure leader. She could remember the very young face of the Rain orphan the first time she had set eyes on her. Orochimaru had suggested that she be killed along with her two fellow orphans but Jiraiya – bless his noble heart – disagreed and began training them instead.

"_Konan told me that Amegakure will pursue Yahiko and Nagato's dreams with me. Regardless of the past, the Village Hidden in the Rain is now an ally of Konoha."_

And Konan had indeed kept her promise.

She had been fiercely protective of Naruto. Whenever the Kyuubi's vessel had needed back-up in the past three years, it was always either the Suna nin or the Ame nin who would reach him first. Konan would also personally see him from time to time to see how he was doing. She stayed true to her word and was constantly behind Naruto, encouraging him to take risks but at the same time cautioning him about the dangers surrounding him.

Just three days ago, she was killed. And Tsunade could only think of one man who would be powerful enough to take down the "God's Angel".

The countdown to doom begins.

"Amegakure is now grieving the loss of their leader," Tsunade said quietly. "I told them that our arrangements could be postponed and that they should remain in their village. But they were adamant that they did not want to show any weakness, therefore they decided to continue. They are holding a memorial service in her name as we speak. I wanted to go there to pay my respects but they told me to remain here in case Konoha is the next target.

"They are amazing people, Kakashi... The most powerful of them have fought alongside Naruto in the last three years and Naruto has always praised the ones he encountered. Nagato and Konan may have been vicious and merciless to their enemies outside their own village but they taught them to be intensely loyal to each other. It would really benefit Konohagakure if they saw that we are just like them."

Kakashi knew. He _knew._ Konan was dead and she was the main reason that Amegakure stood by Konoha's side. Now that she's gone, they may stray and as Tsunade had stressed, that was something Konoha could not afford.

But _still..._

Tsunade sighed deeply. "I had a feeling you would react this way so..." Tsunade trailed off then called, "In here!"

Tenzou... Yamato appeared in front of Tsunade beside Kakashi. He nodded to his senpai before bowing to Tsunade.

"Yamato here will go with you," Tsunade announced. Then grinning, she added, "And just so you'd have a bit of fun along the way, Rock Lee will also be accompanying you."

Kakashi would have blanched if he didn't already have such pale skin. Lee was a nice kid but he was just too much like Gai at times...

Actually, at _all _times.

The Amegakure nin would either be amused or annoyed by the newly promoted Tokubetsu Jounin.

"Sakura will be the one to greet you upon your return," Tsunade continued. "She will also assist you in showing them around and teaching them about our ways and beliefs. It will give her excellent practice with diplomacy – not that she's not already good at it."

At least Kakashi wasn't going to be doing this alone after all. He might be present but he could probably just leave all the talking and interacting to Yamato, Lee and Sakura.

"I know what you're thinking, Kakashi, and I'd appreciate it if that thought disappears forever. You are _doing _this."

Kakashi couldn't see why he had to. He eventually got over his hatred of Iwa, didn't he? Sure, he could still feel pain whenever he saw their insignia but his wounds on that matter were now merely scars.

His wounds from three years ago weren't even closed yet.

But she was his Hokage and her word was law. It was a part of the oath he had taken when he was sworn into the life of a Konoha shinobi.

Kakashi finally bowed and said, "I will obey."

Tsunade nodded with a mixture of relief and satisfaction. "Good. You depart early this afternoon." _Before you can think it over and back out._

That should give them enough time to reach the border of Fire Country by midnight.

"Dismissed."

Kakashi quickly teleported outside of the Hokage Tower. He couldn't stand staying any longer in that office; not when he was being forced to do the very last thing he wanted to. Yamato appeared slightly behind him at a respectful distance. He probably knew what thoughts and emotions were passing through Kakashi at that moment.

"Just name a rendezvous point, senpai, and I shall take care of informing Lee."

"The gate then," Kakashi replied lifelessly. "In exactly three hours from now."

Yamato then disappeared while Kakashi slowly headed towards the Memorial Stone. He was always prepared to leave for missions – although this was one mission he definitely would rather avoid – so he knew he could spare the time to visit the Memorial to say good-bye to his loved ones for a while.

Thankfully, as usual, the Memorial Stone was empty. Before the... _Before, _he would be satisfied with going to the Memorial Stone just once a day whenever he was in Konoha. But now, he would go at least twice a day. Naruto's constant absence from Konoha, as well as Sakura's packed schedule placed heavy restraints on how often he could see the two members of the former Team 7. They had all truly grown apart. Kakashi didn't even want to think about the remaining former member.

"Ah! It's the Jounin who made Iruka-sensei disappear!"

Kakashi winced and visibly stiffened then sagged at the words. An overwhelming pain lanced him straight at the heart at the words. He hesitantly and almost fearfully looked up at the source of the cruel yet truthful exclamation.

A brown-eyed Genin was pointing at him. Kakashi recognized him as one of Iruka's Naruto-wannabe students. Looking at those brown eyes, it was only then that Kakashi realized that, despite the words, there was no condemnation in the boy's countenance. In fact, he looked just a tad surprised and curious. Reflecting on the boy's tone earlier, it was actually more matter-of-fact than scornful.

"Hatake Kakashi-sama, right?" the boy questioned as he finally lowered his arm and approached the older nin. "Are you here to visit Iruka-sensei?"

Kakashi just wordlessly nodded. He didn't know whether he should stay or he should go. He was already used to Iruka's students giving him hateful or looks of hurt. They all loved their sensei and Iruka's death had greatly affected them. If he was right, the boy currently standing next to him, Naoki, was almost as close to Iruka as Naruto and Konohamaru were. Yet like Naruto, he stood beside the Jounin quite easily as he, too, faced the memorial stone. Kakashi would honestly just rather go. But if this student wanted to yell at him, curse at him or spit at him, then he felt that they very had much the right to do so – thus he stayed. Hell, _Kakashi_ always yelled and cursed at himself...

...He was his greatest tormentor.

"You look horrible," Naoki told him bluntly when he looked up at the Jounin. Kakashi gave him a surprised look. Out of all the possible comments that were flying around in his head, that was the last thing Kakashi expected.

"I mean, look at your hair for instance! The hair on the right side is shorter than the left side! Get a haircut and make it even! Also, you're obviously not even attempting to brush your limp hair back. You can't even see the Konoha symbol at all! Can _you _even see?"

"How I look is none of your business, kid," Kakashi retorted as he turned his gaze back to the Stone.

"Sheesh! What would Iruka-sensei say if he saw you?"

Kakashi stiffened once more. He barely stopped himself from grabbing the obnoxious Genin's throat to stop the brat from speaking about _things _that he shouldn't speak about in Kakashi's presence.

"I really can't hate someone pathetic like you after all."

Kakashi's body jerked at that and he looked down at the sulking Genin. The young shinobi had his arms folded behind his head as he stared at the Stone before giving Kakashi a sideways glance.

"I wanted to hate you, you know," Naoki told him earnestly as he turned to his left to completely face Kakashi. "Badly. But Naruto-nii told me that Iruka-sensei asked you to make him disappear along with the enemy who attacked Konoha since there was no other choice."

Kakashi stared at him for a moment before looking down Iruka's name etched on the Stone.

"Then you should hate me for doing what he told me to," he said, his voice almost breaking. He looked sideways at Naoki and was stunned to find the boy giving him a lopsided grin.

"Well, _no one_ can resist Iruka-sensei's '_sensei' _voice."

"_Will you sacrifice Konoha for one man? DO IT, Hatake Kakashi! NOW before it kills me anyway!"_

That same strict voice – that 'sensei' voice – was also the voice that would scold him for handing in messy reports or handing in reports late; most of the time, it was both. But always, he would laughingly shake off the Chuunin Academy sensei's scolding.

A small sad smile touched Kakashi's lips.

"No... I could always resist Iruka's 'sensei' voice... Except when it mattered."

Naoki just shook his head at Kakashi.

"Seriously, Jounin-san-who-made-Iruka-sensei-disappear, Iruka-sensei wouldn't hate someone who did what he told him to. So why should _you_?"

Naoki then shrugged and began walking away. But he took one last backward glance at Kakashi before disappearing.

"Oh, and take care of yourself, would 'ya? You'll worry the ones who are still alive, like Naruto-nii."

The Genin then leaped away and disappeared from sight. It shouldn't have made it him feel a bit lighter but that conversation with the smart-mouthed Genin definitely did.

"Hmph. Brat."

* * *

"I shall Strive to do my Absolutely very Youthful Best in this Noble and Hip Endeavour that has been Entrusted to me, a Budding Tokubetsu Jounin in the Springtime of his Youthful and Splendid Life as an Honourable and Awe-inspiring Shinobi!"

Maybe he should start addressing Lee as "mini-Gai" although he certainly wasn't small anymore. Just a couple more inches and he would be the same height as his admired mentor.

Well, Kakashi supposed it would be all right... as long as mini-Gai didn't suddenly start throwing pointless challenges at him. He'll leave that burden to Neji.

Kakashi turned to the last member of their group of three and gave him a look that asked, "Why him again?"

Yamato chuckled nervously. "Tsunade-sama thought that he would be able to provide, erm, _life _in this mission. He's to be a... an ice-breaker so to speak-" –in case of any awkward moments that might arise due to Kakashi's profound hate for Ame nin.

The three Konoha nin chosen to fetch the team of Amegakure diplomats stood right in front of the gates of their hidden village. All three carried just a light pack for their relatively short journey. The two Chuunin currently entrusted with gatekeeper duties, Hagane Kotetsu and Kamizuki Izumo, watched them with interest. They were probably just curious about the combination of Kakashi and Yamato, who were two of the most powerful Jounin Konoha has the pride of producing, and Lee, who was an extremely skilled and promising Tokubetsu Jounin.

Or they probably couldn't ignore the sheer volume that Lee used with his youthfully exuberant proclamations.

"Well, we have to leave now," Kakashi announced as he looked up at the sun, gauging the approximate time. Yamato and Lee immediately stood to attention. "We have a long way to go and we have to be at the border of Hi no Kuni by midnight. We should arrive at Amegakure no Sato by tomorrow; afternoon at the latest."

Kakashi then inclined his head and the three launched off.

The Land of Rain was located at the western border of the Land of Fire. Since the Land of Rain shared its borders with three of the Five Great Shinobi Lands, it was often caught in the middle of the many Great Shinobi Wars of the past. Therefore, most of its citizens are either refugees of war or descendants of such refugees. It was a Land where tears fell as freely as rain.

Kakashi just hoped that his tears wouldn't be added to theirs.

* * *

Gai's training for Lee has definitely superb as the Tokubetsu Jounin was able to keep with his two Jounin teammates with such ease despite the two running at almost their top speed. Thus, they were able to reach the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rain at the expected time – midnight.

Although they were already at the official border, their surroundings made it seem as though they were still in the Land of Fire. However, when Yamato ordered a wood clone to climb to the treetops and take a look around, the clone confirmed that there was a very dense patch cloud just a couple of kilometres away with rain falling heavily.

"It is probably best to camp out here instead of in the rain," Yamato said as his clone returned.

Kakashi nodded in agreement. "That would be-"

The wielder of the Sharigan did not finish his sentence as he leaped away from where he had been standing. Whistling sounds filled the night sky as a vast number of kunai pierced through the air. Kakashi saw with some horror that each kunai had an exploding tag attached to it.

His body took over as he dodged kunai after kunai after kunai, which seemed to come from every direction except from below. The forest was being systematically destroyed as the exploding tags detonated around him. He tried to locate Yamato and Lee but all he could immediately see was the blaze of fire as the trees around him burned.

Kakashi slid his hitai-ate upwards, revealing his Sharingan. Unfortunately, the smoke from the fire was clouding his sight.

"Suiton: Suihachi!"

Kakashi grinned wryly as Yamato finally used his fire-extinguishing and smoke-dispersing jutsu. Now he had to find Lee-

"Konoha Daisenpu!"

It seemed Lee beat him to reaching the enemy. When Kakashi finally broke through the smoke, he saw that the Tokubetsu Jounin was greatly outnumbered. Lee battled twenty nin – they could only be shinobi with the way they moved – who possessed no hitai-ate that would give away their village or affiliation. It was no wonder the kunai seemed to come from all directions!

Yamato then appeared beside Kakashi. With a brief nod to acknowledge Kakashi, he then sprang forward to help Lee by engaging half of the twenty. Kakashi was about to lend them aid when something caught his attention from the corner of his eye.

A shinobi hidden in the few remaining trees had a small pipe. A dart flew from the pipe towards Lee.

Kakashi was already running before his mind finished its decision-making. He held his right fist up and easily blocked the dart with his steel hand-guard.

"Suiro no Jutsu!"

Kakashi knew that jutsu: the Water Prison Technique. He had been a victim of that jutsu too many times to count, including in his battle with Zabuza. Kakashi glanced behind him to look at Lee and his eyes widened at the sight.

Unlike the Water Prison Technique he had been in before, wherein the victim was caged within a ball of water, this one had a slight yet deadly alteration.

The water was trying to enter Lee's nose, mouth and ears. The Tokubetsu Jounin struggled to cover all the possible entry points on his face but was obviously failing. Kakashi had to do something-

_Damn it! _He cursed as he felt eight pinpricks on various points of his body, including the back of his neck. He staggered then completely lost balance, falling on his knees on the ground. How could he stupidly forget about the darts?

His muscles began to spasm, his vision blurred, his mouth became dry, his stomach clenched and his heart began beating painfully and irregularly.

_Damn it! _He cursed once more as he recognized the symptoms. He fiercely hoped – for the sake of his teammates – that his body would be able to resist the last symptom...

...Hallucinations.

"Kakashi-senpai! Lee!" Yamato called out, his voice filled with worry. Unfortunately, his hands were full now that Lee was ensnared by one of the unknown shinobi as he battled nineteen nin.

The dart thrower approached Kakashi with an obnoxious smirk on his face.

"Well, well, well," the man said with a leer. "What do we have here? Truthfully, I'm incredibly surprised and impressed that you aren't babbling out of your mind yet. I just gave you eight times the dose needed to bring down a cell of highly trained ANBU."

Kakashi tried to glare at the man but his vision could barely make out shapes. Speaking would be futile as his throat had constricted and his mouth was too dry.

"And look at that eye!" the man exclaimed gleefully. "Is that an infamous Sharingan? Oh-ho! What a treasure! Now stay still while I pluck it out of that pathetic face-"

One minute, the man was reaching for his left eye and then in the next, Kakashi heard an ear-splitting shriek as a dark cloaked figure descended in front of him, engulfing his whole view. More shrieks, yells and screams rang out around them as the sound of heavy rain seemed to fall around them.

Kakashi vaguely recognized the sound of Lee coughing violently; he assumed that the younger shinobi had been released from his water prison.

"Kakashi-senpai!" Yamato called, seemingly from far away as the sound seemed somewhat muted to Kakashi. Great, his hearing was starting to go as well.

"Are all the Konoha Jounin-sama safe?" a familiar voice inquired.

"Yeah, yeah," a young female voice replied impatiently. "My Raining Bullet Technique finished all those dickless bastards off."

"Please tell me you kept at least _one_ alive," a new and annoyed male voice said. "We need to know who the hell sent them."

"Stop arguing, children," the first male voice chided lightly. "Make sure Todou doesn't need help with the youngest Jounin-sama."

"Yeah, yeah!" the female muttered, her voice fading a bit as Kakashi heard her walk off.

That first male voice was so painfully familiar... He knew with his whole being that he has heard that voice before – and that the owner of the voice was important. But whose voice was it?

He felt more than saw someone crouch down in front of him.

"He's been poisoned," the voice announced as Kakashi's body continued its convulsions.

"Do you have the antidote for it?" the second male voice asked lightly without much concern. He obviously expected his comrade to have the antidote.

"I do," the familiar voice replied. "Surprisingly enough, they only used one plant poison – the typical Deadly Nightshade. It's either they weren't seriously trying to kill them – rather, they were trying to capture them alive – or this was all they had on them." There was a pause. "Actually, they may have been trying to kill him. I see eight darts, which are enough to _kill_ a whole ANBU squad without trouble. I am truly stunned that this Jounin-sama isn't dead yet."

"He must have some resistance to poison and toxic substances," the second male voice commented. "Hold on, wouldn't i.v. administration be better?"

"No syringe..."

Kakashi suddenly felt someone tip his chin up before his mask was unceremoniously pulled down. Before he could protest or fight off the stranger with the familiar voice, a pair of warm lips closed over his own before liquid was passed through them. Kakashi's nose was pinched and, weakened as he was, he could not resist his swallowing reflex.

_Damn it! What if they're the enemy?_

Even if he could gather the idea that this was an antidote to the poison from the conversation going on around him – and that they were rescued by these _strangers_ – Kakashi was still at a very vulnerable state. He couldn't just trust anyone especially when he didn't know where Lee and Yamato were. It seemed that a man named Todou was healing Lee but what about Yamato?

Kakashi tried to push the man away but his body was still severely convulsing even as the antidote spread through him slowly.

"Senpai, don't fight him," Yamato's voice suddenly spoke out in a croak.

Kakashi wanted to as _why. _Why should he even believe that it was actually Yamato speaking?

His eyes began gaining a bit of clarity and his headache and convulsions started easing. His heartbeat also became more and more regular in its rhythm. He was so thirsty and when he tried to speak, he found that he could barely make a sound.

Then he looked up at the one in front of him.

His jaw dropped at the face before him.

_Are the hallucinations beginning despite the antidote?_

"Your companion had the exact same reaction," the owner of the voice that was so very familiar said with a dazzling smile. "While it's all amusing, you should sleep now, Jounin-sama."

Now Kakashi knew why his voice was so familiar...

"_Thank you, Kakashi..."_

It was _his _voice... And right here, right now... Here in front of him...

...was _his _face...

A hand landed on Kakashi's head from behind. There was a transfer of chakra and his eyelids instantly began to flutter close. Kakashi cried out a protest – or tried to. He fought to stay awake; to keep his eyes open... To make sure that the person in front of him was _real_...

"Ir...rk-a..."

But he lost his battle.

_Iruka..._

_...Have you finally come to kill me?_

_

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_

**A/N:** _**BUWAHAHAHA! Sadistic Ceil comes out again! CLIFFY! **_**=D **_**Oh my gawsh! What will happen in the next chapter? Stay tuned! LOL! **_**=P**

_**Ah... I love manga and anime... My therapy for nursing open wounds of rejection! Yes, I was rejected! For a job! I didn't even get an interview... *sigh* But life moves on and I went through two other interviews and was successful at both so yay me! So you guys know what that means!**_

**Ceil Scheherazade = job = less time for writing fanfic = longer waiting period for updates...**

*****_**dodges various flying daggers, kunai, shuriken, knives, forks and numerous other kitchen utensils, notably sharp***_

_**So we'll see how I go... For those who have read my other fanfic, **_**Reynard, **_**you would recognize Naoki! Ah, gotta love that particular OC of mine. He's like Naruto, but not as loud. He's also like Konohamaru, but not as petulant. **_

_**Again, thank you for the new readers who have added this story to their alerts or favourites list! I am truly grateful! *bows***_

Imperial Dragon_** – Thank you for being the first reviewer for the previous chapter! Thus, this chapter is dedicated to you! =) Yes, Kakashi is quite an angst-y individual, ne? Will he kill himself slowly with the next chapter? Dun-Dun-Dun! Please review and tell me what you think!**_

The-Lady-Smaell_** – Hi Milady! =) Yes, I do know about the little speech bubble icon but I want to share my replies to reviewers with other reviewers... Actually, I don't even know if they read my replies for other but... *shrugs* I probably would use that clever little button if I get more than ten reviews per chapter... Woah! Wouldn't that be like a dream? Haha! But thanks for pointing it out for my sake anyway! =) I hope you don't die a second time with the angst in this chapter and I'm really over the moon that you're quite hooked with this story! Ah, you truly know how to make yours truly blush with happiness! =D Oh, and feel free to ramble at any time! Your rambling is quite flattering! =P I can't wait to hear what you think about the end of this chapter! =D**_

eve_** – Haha, thanks! I hope this chapter is "better"! =P**_

KakashiKrazed_** – Now you're reading this story of mine too? *gasp* And you put it in your favourites list? *GASP* OMG! *faints* LOL! =P Thank you SO very much for that! I am extremely flattered beyond belief. I really truly hope that you liked this chapter! I enjoy reading your very detailed reviews and they just make my day! Well, I don't know what your suspicions about a certain Chuunin are but I think you have a very good idea of what's happened to him after this chapter. Yes, I'm quite cruel to Kakashi in this fanfic. In fact, I think I might be making him a bit too angst-y... I did quite a bit of research with this fic (with my other Naruto fanfics as well actually) so I'm glad that the connections and the details were quite clear and noticeable. Again, I look forward to hearing what you think about this chapter! Thanks for reviewing!**_

Prescripto13_** – Yes, the grudge... I made Kakashi a bitter man! I'm so evil! *wails* Haha, well I'm glad you thought the previous chapter was well-written; I hope this chapter was. It took me a while to fill in the middle of it since I actually wrote the beginning of the chapter then the end and came up with about 2000 words... I usually aim for at least 3500 words per chapter so I had to carefully think about what to write that would be relevant later on for the story. So it did take some time. I hope it was worth the wait! =)**_

magostar117_** – Thank you! *blushes* I'm still evil to Kakashi in this chapter but I'm glad you understand! =D Well, what do you think is going to happen next after this chapter? Hehe... Thanks for the review again and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!**_

Behan_** – Aww, shucks! You're making me blush! I hope this chapter was okay for you since it was a bit more angst. Yes, we all want to give poor Kakashi a hug, don't we? As for Iruka... Hmm, what do you think is happening? *winks***_

_**Again, thank you very much for reading!**_

**Ceil Scheherazade**


	4. The Kamui of False Hope

**Disclaimer:** I do NOT own Naruto; it's owned by the amazing Masashi Kishimoto.

**Warning:** This may have some mild shounen-ai elements. Definitely nothing explicit. This _is _rated T after all.

* * *

**The Crying Kamui**

**Chapter 3

* * *

**

_The blood from Iruka's wounds gathered and formed dagger-like shapes. They then launched and embedded themselves on the Asura Path's chest._

"_Kakashi!" Iruka yelled out weakly. "Hurry! Your Kamui!"_

_Kakashi's eyes widened as he realized what Iruka was trying to get him to do. _

"_No..." He whispered._

"_Why are you looking at me like that? I _am_ your _soldier_. Go ahead and _do it_!"_

_How could he use Kamui on the Asura Path when it held Iruka hostage? Iruka was too close! If Kakashi used Kamui, Iruka would surely get sucked into his dojutsu as well!_

_How could Iruka expect _him_ to take that risk?_

"_Will you sacrifice Konoha for one man? DO IT, Hatake Kakashi! NOW before it kills me anyway!"_

_Iruka was right. The Asura Path was already attempting to aim his missiles towards Iruka. Fortunately, Iruka's blood daggers seemed to be doing enough damage that Pain was having difficulty in directing the missiles' target._

"_If... If you don't do it, I-I'll... I'll _hate_ you! We're running out of time! ...So _please_!"_

_How could Iruka be begging Kakashi to kill him? He could more than understand Iruka's reasoning and plea. Iruka hate him? He would rather risk that than kill a comrade._

_It was at that moment that Kakashi truly understood why his father, the White Fang, had chosen the path that had ultimately led to his destruction all those years ago. How could he allow a fellow Konoha shinobi to die?_

_And Iruka... Iruka was precious to Naruto. How would he be able to face Naruto if he killed Iruka?_

_But if he didn't destroy the Asura Path, there was a chance that it could revive later and help capture Naruto and the Kyuubi..._

_...Then _all_ of Konoha's citizens would die._

_So the best thing he can do for _Konoha_..._

_He stared intensely at Iruka. His vision was slightly blurry as his mind made a choice that his heart cried against. He thought that he had lost the ability to cry long ago but now, as his Mangekyo Sharingan was activated, he learned that there really was no limit to how many tears one can shed._

_Although his dojutsu encompassed both the Asura Path and the Chuunin, Kakashi's eyes were fixed on the brown orbs that stared back at him._

_A soft curling of the lips... A tender smile... Then..._

"Thank you_, Kakashi."_

Kakashi's eyes snapped open and the first thing he saw was his hand reaching out towards a wooden ceiling. He was lying down on a futon in a large living area with decorative fusuma hiding his view of the other rooms in the house. Kakashi slowly lowered his arm but refused to close his eyes in fear of seeing the image that has haunted him for three years once more.

He remembered how he _thought _he saw Iruka before he was knocked out by a humungous hand on his head. He had been poisoned with a staggering dose of Deadly Nightshade, which is known to induce hallucinogenic effects. It would not be out of the realms of reality for him to imagine seeing Iruka in front of him, especially since he was in the Land of Rain.

"_Your companion had the exact same reaction," the owner of the voice that was so very familiar said with a dazzling smile. "While it's all amusing, you should sleep now, Jounin-sama."_

He can only assume that "companion" had been Yamato and not Lee, especially if the younger shinobi had been too busy trying to reintroduce air to his lungs.

So maybe Yamato had been poisoned with the Deadly Nightshade too?

Kakashi slowly sat up and studied his own body for any injuries or dissipating effects of the poison. Thankfully, he felt fine physically and his muscles seemed to be in working order again as he was able to wriggle his toes and clench his fists. His mask was also gone but was replaced by a thin, breathable surgical mask – probably so that he could breathe easily while still having his face covered.

Kakashi then slowly tried to open his left eye but pain instantly pierced through it as soon as it was exposed to air. He quickly closed it to prevent his chakra from draining. The Sharingan already normally drained his chakra... An injured eye almost drained it twice as much.

"Ah, Jounin-sama, you're awake."

Kakashi immediately swivelled his head towards the direction of the familiar voice and instantly regretted it as a sharp pain pierced through his head. He winced and clutched at his head with a hand, breathing slowly as he waited for the pain to pass. Once he deemed it safe to look up again, he did so slowly and found himself looking into amused chocolate brown eyes.

It was _him. _It was truly _him._ _Kakashi had not been hallucinating!_

There was not much difference from the man he remembered. Granted, his currently unbound dark brown – almost black – hair was longer and fell down to his waist; his body was also leaner than Kakashi remembered but that could have been from the voluminous Chuunin standard uniform. But his face, his _smile_, was the same; except for the additional scar that ran from the left side of his jaw line up to his cheek to dissect the horizontal scar across his nose. The new scar ended just above that horizontal scar, that is, a couple of centimetres below his left eye. He was wearing a simple dark grey yukata; he didn't seem to have any weapons on him.

_Iruka _was sitting leaning on the edge of the sliding doors, which had been drawn open to show the rain outside. There were no other buildings in sight, just endless fields of rice under the torrent of rain. Kakashi deduced that they were at the outskirts of a village on a traditional-style house with sliding doors made out of wood and paper.

_Iruka _seemed to be feeding birds with one resting on his drawn-up knee, one on his shoulder and one on the index finger of his right hand. A few more pecked at the crumbs at his feet and the man seemed very much at ease as he affectionately hummed at the birds.

Kakashi opened his mouth to speak. "Iru-"

"My name is _Haruka_," the man introduced himself in _Iruka's _voice. The birds surrounding him, including the ones resting _on_ him, took flight, allowing Iruka- _Haruka_ to stand up and approach Kakashi.

"You are in the outskirts of Amegakure no Sato," Haruka continued as he sat down beside Kakashi. His long hair fell forward to frame his face as he leaned closer to Kakashi to place a warm hand on Kakashi's hitai-ate-free forehead. "The other Jounin-sama and the Tokubetsu Jounin-sama are in an unofficial meeting with the new leader of Amegakure. Once you are deemed fully recovered, the official meeting will be held with your presence."

Was Kakashi truly mistaken? Was this really _not _Iruka? But the scar over the bridge of his nose was too much of a coincidence to be otherwise! And the likeness! The _likeness_! Not just the face but even the voice and his manners! This Haruka-person cannot be anyone _but_ Iruka!

He then realized that gentle fingers were trying to smooth the creases on his forehead caused by his frown. Kakashi closed his right eye for a moment, relishing the tender gesture. Tenderness was something he received extremely rarely. He suddenly felt like a child – possibly one of Iruka's students – who was being comforted by the strict but kind sensei.

"You really don't know who I am?" Kakashi spoke for the first time since he woke up. His voice was hoarse but his words were undoubtedly understandable. Unfortunately, his tone was also very clearly sorrowful...

...Heartbroken.

"Of course I know who you are," Haruka – _Iruka – _said with a grin and Kakashi's heart soared with a fierce hope... only for it to shrivel once more at Iruka – _Haruka's – _next words.

"You are the great Sharingan no Kakashi, master of a thousand jutsu and the Copy Ninja! Even the shinobi here in Amegakure say you're a legend!" Haruka added cheerfully, his face charismatically youthful in his excitement.

"...I'm not great," was the only thing Kakashi could reply with as he turned away from Haruka. He couldn't bear to look at the face anymore and have false hope for a dream that was never going to be a reality.

"Jounin-sama?" Haruka said softly in concern as he leaned even closer towards Kakashi, making the Jounin look back at him.

Haruka's eyebrows were furrowed and his eyes wide with sincere concern. It touched Kakashi's heart while at the same time breaking it even more... Since Haruka wasn't who Kakashi wanted him to be.

"Are you all right-"

"Oi, Haruka! Are you bothering our guest?"

Kakashi looked beyond Haruka towards the door where a newcomer stood with a fist on his hip. It was a man approximately Kakashi's height – if not a bit taller – and he recognized the man's voice to be one of the voices he heard before he fell unconscious due to the poison. Unlike Haruka, this man was wearing the hitai-ate bearing the symbol of the Hidden Rain on his forehead. He also had a couple of piercings on his face that included a nose stud, three loops on his right earlobe and a ring at the corner of his lip. The man was quite handsome with startling pale blue eyes and bright orange-coloured hair. He looked like someone... In fact...

He looked like the Deva Path of Pain!

"I've done nothing but behave, Ba-Kaiten," Haruka retorted – and thus distracting Kakashi from his dark thoughts about the newcomer – as he stood up then hooked his hair behind his right ear. He headed over to a small table where a pitcher of water and a couple of clear glasses sat. There was also a tea set next to it. "Where are the other Konoha nin?"

"On their way," Kaiten answered nonchalantly as he entered the room and looked down at Kakashi. "They were pretty worried about you, Copy Nin. And for some reason, the older one was worried how you would react when you saw Haruka. Heaven knows he kept on staring and staring closely at our guy here." And this Kaiten guy obviously resented that fact.

"He said I look like someone," Haruka said soothingly in a placating manner as he returned to the two. "You're overly paranoid, Kaiten." He knelt gracefully beside Kakashi once more and offered the cup to the Jounin. "Here you go, Hatake-sama. Please drink it slowly and kindly ignore the tactless idiot standing behind me."

"Haruka!" Kaiten protested but was ignored.

Kakashi relished the feel of the cool water pouring down his throat as he kept a wary and cautious eye on the man who looked like the Deva Path of Pain, Kaiten. As soon as Kakashi finished the glass, Lee burst into the room.

"Kakashi-sensei!" he exclaimed boisterously. "You are awake at long last!"

Kakashi blinked. "How long was I out for?"

"Three days," Haruka answered him with a small frown. "We were quite worried, Hatake-sama."

"Kakashi," he immediately corrected. He thought Iruka – _Haruka _– would argue like Iruka did before but he just smiled and nodded.

"Kakashi-sama then."

Kakashi would prefer that he dropped the '-sama' as well but he had a feeling it would probably take him a while to make the younger man do so...

...just like with Iruka.

He shut his right eye as his fists clenched and gripped the sheets. He could feel Haruka looking worriedly at him and that hurt Kakashi more and more since it was so Iruka-like. It would be so easy to just pretend that this was indeed Iruka but that would be akin to spitting on Iruka's memory.

He could never, ever do that.

Most shinobi would not worry so much for a complete stranger but Haruka treated him as though he was a comrade... which was technically true since Amegakure was an ally of Konoha...

Except Kakashi never saw Ame nin as anything other than a reminder of his sin.

"Senpai, I'm glad you've recovered."

Kakashi looked up and saw Yamato looking down at him with a guarded look on his face. His kohai was pointedly avoiding looking at Haruka. Kakashi desperately wanted to ask him what his thoughts were on Iruka's look-alike but it was obviously not the time or place.

"I was probably a cat in the previous life," Kakashi lightly replied. Yamato allowed a small sad smile to touch his lips.

"If that were the case, you still would've already lost all nine lives years ago."

"I'm all right," Kakashi said, waving a hand dismissively. "Now report."

Before Yamato could speak, Kaiten released a loud yell as he was knocked on his face by a violet blur. He went crashing to the ground as what seemed to be a girl – or young woman? – used him as a foot mat.

"Kaiten 'ya dickless dickhead!" the female yelled as she began rubbing his head between her fists while the man protested by trying to buck her off of him. "What do 'ya think yer doin', runnin' off like that? Leavin' me an' Todou with those Leaf nin! Are 'ya forgettin' yer duty?"

"Why would you do that, Kaiten?" Haruka asked disapprovingly as he gave him a small frown. It was the girl who answered for him.

"This dickless dickhead was all paranoid that you'd be accosted by that Leaf Jounin," the female said as she inclined her head towards Kakashi. "Shithead."

"Shut up, Ameko!" Kaiten yelled at her as he struggled to get himself from underneath the ferocious kunoichi. His attention was completely on Ameko that he failed to instantly notice the shadow looming in front of him. It wasn't until he saw Ameko's vicious smirk that he finally looked up and saw Haruka cracking his knuckles, an enraged aura wrapped around him.

Kaiten instantly paled.

Kakashi watched on in great interest as Haruka took on an air that reminded him of Iruka just before he unleashed hell on the foolish Jounin who submitted messy or late reports.

"H-Haru-"

"Hey Kaiten," Haruka said in a deceptively calm voice, his gaze hooded. "You can't possibly be thinking that I'm a defenceless damsel-in-distress that you need to protect, right?"

If it were possible, Kaiten paled even further. Kakashi still found it so odd that someone with the Deva Path's face could express such fear and anxiety...

And towards someone like Iruka no less!

"S-S-Sorry!" Kaiten squeaked. "You're very strong Haruka and you don't need anybody's protection."

Haruka's expression suddenly changed as a sunny smile appeared on his face. He knelt in front of Kaiten and began patting his head as you would a dog.

"Good Kaiten."

"Haruka," a deep voice called softly. "How is our patient?"

Kakashi's gaze fell on the _largest _man he had seen in his entire life – members of the Akimichi clan excluded. The _giant _couldn't have been less than eight feet! The man had a bald head and stern features. Unlike the members of the Akimichi clan who appeared chubby, this man was all terrifying muscle. He could probably easily lift an elephant without breaking a sweat.

The man had to duck quite a bit to get through the tall sliding doors as he entered the house. He easily filled the room with his sheer size and Kakashi realized that this was the man who had placed an enormous hand on his head.

_A healer, _Kakashi thought, still in awe at the man's size. _A very large healer._

"You should check him out to be a hundred percent sure," Haruka replied as he stepped aside to make more room for the man, who Kakashi assumed was Todou.

"Please excuse me, Hatake-san," Todou politely said as he reached out to place large hands on Kakashi's head. Kakashi fought to stay still and to allow a stranger to touch him. His eyes shifted over to Haruka, who gave him an encouraging smile. He instantly relaxed.

"As Todou is looking you over, I will introduce the others," Haruka told him. "As you already know, my name is Haruka. The one currently healing you is Iba Todou. The lovely hellcat over there is Suzuki Ameko-"

"Hey!" Ameko protested albeit half-heartedly.

"And Kaiten you already know," Haruka finished.

"He is Kaien-sama's younger brother!" Lee added cheerfully! Kakashi noticed a sudden change in the man's demeanour. Suddenly, he seemed more of a killer than the joker from earlier. Kakashi wondered if it had anything to do with Lee's words.

"'Kaien-sama'?" Kakashi echoed. The name was familiar and he knew that it belonged to an Amegakure shinobi. But why did Lee point out the fact that Kaiten was a brother of this Kaien?

"Kaien-sama is now the leader of Amegakure after Konan-sama's death," Haruka explained quietly.

This Kaien must be extremely powerful then to become the leader after the "God's Angel". As Kakashi's gaze shifted to Kaiten once more, he wondered if the older brother looked anything like the younger brother – and thus, anything like the Deva Path of Pain as well.

Todou's hands had already travelled from Kakashi's head to his neck then to his back and arms. Thankfully, the man deemed it unnecessary to touch his thighs. He did quickly go through Kakashi's legs and feet though.

"He's good," the giant finally announced in his very deep voice. "It helped that you had the antidote already, Haruka."

"Why did you have to kiss him though?" Kaiten said with a scowl pulling at his face. Haruka quickly hit him with a paper fan seemingly procured from nowhere. There was a bright blush on the scarred man's face.

"It was _not _a kiss!" Haruka protested heatedly. "I was saving his life, _damn it_! Stop being such a shithead!"

"Don't start taking on Ameko's vulgarity!" Kaiten exclaimed with a groan. This earned him a number of hits from the hellcat herself.

It was then that Kakashi remembered the conversation going on around him just before he fell into unconsciousness.

"_He must have some resistance to poison and toxic substances," the second male voice commented. "Hold on, wouldn't i.v. administration be better?"_

"_No syringe..."_

Oh, right. Now Kakashi remembered the warm lips and the liquid that passed through them.

That meant Haruka has already seen his face.

Contrary to what many people believed, a number of people have already seen Kakashi's face – comrades in missions that have gone to hell, medics and even a couple of lovers he'd had in the past. But definitely _not_ Iruka.

Kakashi didn't know why but it somewhat bothered him that Haruka has seen his face while Iruka never had. It was a definitely stupid thought since Haruka had nothing to do with Iruka and the man who now knelt next to him pulled his mask down to save his life.

But at the same time, he desperately wanted to know what Haruka thought of his face.

_You're deluding yourself again, _Kakashi thought harshly. _He is _not _Iruka!_

"Yamato," Kakashi said out loud, making every head in the room swivel towards his direction. "Report."

"Amegakure no Sato's newly elected leader, Kaien-sama, was a right-hand man of Konan-sama, the 'God's Angel'," Yamato began as the room fell silent and all bickering stopped. Even Lee was eerily quiet. "We discussed the attack on us at the border of the Land of Rain and the Land of Fire. It seems that these nin are members of the lower branches of Akatsuki. They have been lurking the borders of Ame no kuni ever since the death of Konan-sama."

"We think that they are trying to isolate us from our allies," the giant Todou spoke, making Kakashi look at him. "As you know, before Konan-sama had offered an alliance with Konoha and the other Great Shinobi Villages in their war against Madara, Amegakure had been one of the sanctuaries of Akatsuki. We believe that they may try to attack us to bring us back into their fold."

This was getting nastier and nastier by the minute.

"So your Kaien-sama cannot afford to send out some of his shinobi to Konoha?" It was supposed to be a question but came out as a statement.

Surprisingly enough, it was the rough and tomboyish Ameko who answered.

"No, Kaien-sama believes that we should still proceed with that plan. After all, strengthening our relationship with Konoha is highly beneficial to us, especially in the long run. Also, we cannot afford to show weakness to our enemies by refusing to send out one cell because of their intimidation tactics." Ameko bared her teeth in a cruel grin. "If they think we'll cower like lowly rats in front of such childish and petty traps then they are in for a shockingly horrifying awakening."

Kakashi immediately noticed how her way of speaking became more proper compared to her first entrance. Suzuki Ameko was actually quite pretty – when profanity wasn't being vomited out of her mouth. She wore a revealing black halter top with a violet skirt that reached to her knees. She was also wearing black leggings and black sandals. Her long black hair was tied in a bun with some strands framing her heart-shaped face. Yes, her looks were definitely deceptive – so lady-like looking yet so vulgar! Honestly, this violet-clad, black-haired, green-eyed kunoichi reminded him too much of Mitarashi Anko.

"So who are the members of the cell to be sent with us?"

Ameko grinned as she opened her arms widely. "You're looking at them, Hatake Kakashi."

Kakashi's eyes widened as he realized why _this_ group had been the ones to retrieve them from the borders of the Land of Rain. He should have known. The new leader's brother was a good choice due to his familial ties with the head of Amegakure. Todou the healer would be able to discuss and exchange knowledge with Tsunade. Ameko...

Well...

Kakashi's gaze landed on Haruka last even though the man was the one closest to him. Hands landed on the yukata-clad man's shoulders as Kaiten leaned over Haruka protectively and almost...

...possessively?

"Haruka's not coming," Kaiten said bluntly.

Haruka nodded in agreement and Kakashi could sense some regret emitting from him.

"I am not to leave the Hidden Rain," Haruka said wistfully. "Especially not on a diplomatic trip to another village."

Kakashi opened his mouth. "Wh-"

"Come on, Haruka," Kaiten said loudly as though Kakashi had not been about to say something. He pulled the younger man up by the armpits like he would a child before grabbing Haruka by the hand and pulling him away. "Kaien has orders for you."

They disappeared after turning outside the door.

"Oi, dickless dickhead!" Ameko yelled as she ran after them. "Don't manhandle Haruka like that!"

Todou carefully yet somewhat gracefully stood up. He went to the door before turning around and bowing.

"We shall leave you to discuss your mission and what you have learned, then." Todou then disappeared after his team.

"Kakashi-sensei," Lee said quietly, surprising both Jounin immensely. "Was that Iruka-sensei?"

Kakashi closed his eye for a moment and an image of Iruka instantly popped in his mind. Haruka's face then appeared and was superimposed over Iruka's. Kakashi quickly opened his eye then.

"I do not know, Lee," Kakashi said honestly as he placed a hand over his closed left eye. "I don't know how or why but it seems that my Sharingan is injured."

"Were you hit in the eye?" Yamato asked urgently.

Kakashi shook his head. "No but one of the cholinergic effects of the Deadly Nightshade affects the eyes. For some reason, I think it's taking longer for its effects to dissipate from the Sharingan. Don't worry about it. I'm still one hell of a shinobi without the Sharingan."

Yamato nodded gravely.

"Does Iruka-sensei have relatives in Rain?" Lee asked with a one-tracked mind. Kakashi desperately wanted to avoid all of these questions since he had the exact same questions himself. He didn't want to have false hope that Iruka could be alive through Haruka. Once they leave Amegakure no Sato, Kakashi would forget all about the Iruka look-alike.

Actually...

"Why isn't Haruka coming with us?" Kakashi asked, his gaze on Yamato intent. "Judging by their interactions with one another, I thought they all belonged in the same team. But I must have been wrong if he's not joining us."

"That's because they're _not _in a team," Yamato replied slowly. "At least, not officially."

Kakashi's eyes narrowed. "Clarify."

Yamato sighed heavily. "They're not officially on a team for the same reason Haruka-san was chosen to watch over you while the rest of us went on an 'unofficial' meeting with their leader and some of the village elders...

"..._**Haruka-san is **_**not**_** an Ame shinobi**_."

* * *

**A/N: **_**Can you believe I received TEN reviews for the last chapter? *takes out party hat and rejoices* So after this chapter, I shall start replying to reviews via the Reply to Review button! So please regularly check your messages if you've reviewed since that's where I'll post my reply... except for the anonymous reviewers of course!**_

_**CLIFFY AGAIN! Sort-of... Erm... I can't help it, okay? It's more dramatic this way! Now what the hell could be going on? Stay tuned! LOL!**_

_**Tell me what you guys think of Haruka! I shan't say more about him! **_**=D **_**And tell me what you guys think of Kaiten, Todou and Ameko! **_**=)**

_**Thanks muchly for everyone who has reviewed! Also, thanks for the kind and awesome people who have added this story to their Favourite or Alerts list! **_**=)**

Imperial Dragon_** – Woah! You're so fast at reviewing! Do you live in Australia? LOL! Again, this chapter is dedicated for you for being my first reviewer for the previous chapter! The answers to the questions you seek are still out of your reach... *sage-like voice* LOL! But yup, you need to keep on reading and commenting... *hint-hint, nudge-nudge, wink-wink* LOL! Thanks for your comments!**_

Behan_** – Oh, thank you sooo very much for the lengthy review! I LOVE lengthy reviews! **_**=)**_** They seriously make my day! LOL, please don't jump off a cliff (even though here's another cliffy) since I might get in trouble! I'm glad you like Naoki and what NAUGHTY things are you thinking? Haha! No, I understand. I am a fangirl too you know! *leers* Ah, Lee... Yes, I love Lee too! He's such a bundle of Eternally Youthful Energy and Hip Optimism! HAHAHA! As for all of your Iruka questions... What do you think after this chapter? What do you think of Haruka? Ooh, now I have the questions for YOU! BUWAHAHAHA! LOL! And thanks for the congrats (even though it was grudgingly given ^_^)! I feel the love! **_**=P**

tina_** – Thanks for your review and the congrats! Yeah, it's hard to find a job especially depending on where you live but the job I got is actually only for the Christmas season. I hope you liked this chapter as well! I actually had fun writing it and introducing the new OCs. I hope you liked them as well!**_

magostar117_** – Haha, I'm glad you're liking my fic so far! I do try to make it as interesting as possible while still sticking to the plot in my head. Yes, I think Kakashi's the type to shoulder burdens, especially as you see with his regular visits to the memorial stone. But we love him for it! Please tell me what you think of this chapter! Thanks again for dropping your comments! **_**=)**

Prescripto13_** – Aww, thanks! I've noticed that you mention my first name every time you review... Just noticing! **_**=P**_** I hope you find this chapter just as interesting!**_

eve_** – Haha! Well, that's better! Now I hope this chapter is the best so far! **_**=)**

KakashiKrazed_** – Woah! Novel-length review! *squeals joyfully* LOL! Yup, I think Kakashi's loyalty to Konoha will always override his personal feelings and opinions. Even his inherited belief that comrades should never be abandoned, in my opinion, still reflects his loyalty for his village as a whole rather than just for its rule-makers. I think he's the perfect balance of soldier and man although could also often teeter between the two. I'm glad you liked the Naoki scene! I was quite happy with that myself! I didn't want to use Naruto for that scene and using Konohamaru didn't seem quite right for me so I borrowed Naoki from **_**Reynard **_**although I made him older in this fic. I was actually quite nervous about the ambush since describing action had never been one of my strong points even though I love devouring action while reading stories, which is why I actually love a number of your fics. I'm glad that I was able to produce something satisfactory at least. Now I'm really, very eager to know what you think of Haruka! *nervous fiddling of thumbs* And thanks for the congrats! It's just Christmas season jobs at 2 retail stores although I might have to give one up. Hopefully, I'll earn enough and get myself a nice graduation present! **_**=)**_** Again, thanks for your lovely review!**_

lilrocker_** – Thank you so much! *blushes* You're adding this to your faves? *blush intensifies* I'm really glad you like my fic so far! I hope you liked this chapter as well! It took me a while to get it out but I'm kinda busy at the moment so... But writing this helps me relax when I get too stressed and have to walk away for a moment. Thanks again! Tell me what you think of this chapter. **_**=)**

The-Lady-Smaell – _**Hi Milady! **_**=)**_** Yes, I'm evil! It's another cliff hanger! *laughs evilly* Oh wait! Does this mean you're going to make the next chapter of **_**Otherside **_**a cliffy too? NOOO! LOL! **_**=P**_** *sigh* I really am too vain, haha! I'd give you Naoki as a present but I still have some use for him... (Naoki in the background: What kind of use...? WHAT USE?) He should just resign himself to his fate of being my eternal teddy bear... He was my plot bunny assistant when I got stuck in that Kakashi-in-front-of-the-memorial-stone scene last chapter. Anyway... I'm glad you liked the ambush scene although I was a bit nervous about it. Yeah, that variation just reveals my sadistic side once more. Now... TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK OF HARUKA! LOL! And yes, I'll be using the review reply button with the next chapter except for the anonymous reviewers of course! Thanks again for the lovely and length review, Milady! **_**=)**

jazzy2may_** – Haha, thanks! *blushes* You're my tenth reviewer for the last chapter! Do you know how happy I was when I received it? VERY! **_**=D**_** I hope you like this chapter as well! I look forward to hearing from you! Thank again for the review!**_

_**Well people, I'm signing off! Thanks again for your kind comments!**_

**Ceil Scheherazade**


	5. The Enigmatic Kamui

**Disclaimer:** I do NOT own Naruto; it's owned by the amazing Masashi Kishimoto.

**Warning:** This may have some mild shounen-ai elements; definitely nothing explicit. This _is _rated T after all.

**The Crying Kamui**

**Chapter 4**

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* * *

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Kakashi's right eye was wide open in shock.

"He's _not _an Ame-nin?" Kakashi repeated slowly, trying to make sure that he heard everything correctly. Of course, he had near perfect hearing, being one of Konoha's elite, and he definitely knew what he had heard.

"No," Yamato confirmed firmly. To Kakashi, it was obvious that he was trying to hide his turbulent thoughts but Yamato was unfortunately failing at the attempt. "Haruka-san is not an Ame-nin."

Haruka wasn't an Ame-nin?

What does that mean?

A man who looked too much like the deceased Iruka – with the exception of an additional scar on his face – currently dwelled in Amegakure no Sato with a man who looked too much like the Deva Path of Pain... yet wasn't a Rain shinobi himself.

What was going on?

"He-" Kakashi refused to say 'Haruka'. "-is friends with obviously very capable shinobi – and he was with them when they aided us at the Fire Country border. They would not allow a civilian out on the field – and no shinobi village would have a foreign nin unless he or she was on a diplomatic mission."

Surprisingly, it was Lee who put forward a hypothesis before Yamato. "Haruka-san could be tolerated by the citizens of this village due to his close connections with Kaiten-san, who is the brother of the village's leader."

Like Gai, Lee was also capable of being serious when circumstances demanded it.

"This leader," Kakashi said slowly. "What can you tell me about him?"

"His name is Kaien," Yamato began explaining, easily adopting the tone of a subordinate reporting to a superior. "He was said to be the right-hand man of Konan-sama. While Konan-sama had earned the moniker 'God's Angel', Kaien-sama was titled 'the Angel's Sword'. She also seems to have passed on all of her techniques and knowledge to him. All of this we got from Haruka-san before we headed off to meet with Kaien-sama."

Haruka probably possessed a whole heap of information beyond what Yamato had said, especially if he was close to Kaien's brother. In fact, would Haruka have his own personal connections with Kaien? Could it even be possible that he had interacted with Konan?

So much mystery surrounded Haruka and Kakashi couldn't bear it because...

...Could there be a chance that Haruka was Iruka?

But how would that be possible when _he _was the one who sent the kind, strong and wilful Chuunin sensei to the afterlife using Kamui?

Kakashi's sharp nails dug into his palms painfully without drawing blood, which was actually quite frightening since he was already using all of his strength to fisting his hands. The fact that he didn't draw blood meant that Kakashi's grip was weak.

"Another thing that might interest you, sempai," Yamato added hesitantly. Kakashi immediately gave him his full attention as he uncurled his fingers. "I am sure you've noticed that Kaiten-san looks very much like the Deva Path of Pain. I did not fight him but I have seen photos of him after all."

Kakashi had a feeling he knew where Yamato was going.

"Kaien-sama..." The look of confusion on Yamato's face intensified.

"_**Kaien-sama looks exactly like the Deva Path of Pain as well."**_

* * *

Kaiten, brother of Amegakure no Sato's new esteemed leader, possessor of the moniker "Heaven's Slayer", and pupil of "God's Angel", Konan, looked towards the humming brunet who was carefully folding a paper crane as he waited patiently for their village leader in his private chambers. Haruka's eyes were closed yet his fingers never faltered; he had already perfected folding the paper to resemble a crane that he no longer needed his eyes to do so. The song he was humming was a familiar lullaby and Kaiten slowly took out his harmonica before playing the tune Haruka was humming. Haruka stopped and looked over at him with a gentle smile on his face – a smile that Kaiten would protect above all else...

The double doors leading to the room opened and an exact replica of Kaiten – only very slightly older looking and with longer hair that reached to his shoulders – entered with such a regal aura that Kaiten straightened and Haruka stood up and bowed.

"Kaiten," Kaien, the "Angel's Sword", greeted his younger brother by inclining his head before turning his intense blue gaze to Haruka. "_Haruka_."

Although Kaien's expression had not changed, there was obvious warmth in his voice when he spoke the man's name.

"Kaien-sama," Haruka greeted in return with a huge smile and the air around them instantly became relaxed. "How was your meeting with the village council?"

Kaien merely closed his eyes before walking towards the couch and gracefully sinking down on it. "Tiring as usual, especially with all their roundabout way of talking. It takes twenty minutes to get a single point across when all that's really needed is a minute or two."

Kaiten scoffed and shook his head. "Well, if you would just let me cull some of them-"

Kaien's intense blue eyes pinned his brother. "The last thing we need in this war is to be killing off our own people. Learn to have patience, Kaiten."

"Kaiten's just been on edge for today, Kaien-sama," Haruka said soothingly as he poured tea for the leader of Amegakure before handing it to him. He turned to the younger of the two. "Now, Kaiten, what's wrong?"

Kaiten's eyes narrowed. "I don't like the way those Konoha nin look at you."

Haruka rolled his eyes. "We've been through this. I just happen to look like one of their comrades. Caution in a shinobi is a valuable trait – but paranoia can endanger those around you!"

Kaien straightened up from his graceful slouch on the sofa. "Haruka is right, Kaiten. It has to be more than that."

Kaiten was quiet for a moment. Then, "That man..."

"'Man'?" Haruka echoed.

Kaiten's gaze was filled with raw emotion. "Hatake Kakashi. He looked at you as though he wanted to take you away."

Haruka's eyes widened before a small, weak smile touched his lips. "Oh, Kaiten..."

He approached the fiery redhead so that he could place a hand gently on Kaiten's cheek.

"I promised you, didn't I?" Haruka said in a low but firm tone. "As long as you need me, I will be right by your side." Then Haruka added, "And Kaien-sama's side although Kaien-sama has never had any need for me." He gave Kaiten a grin, inviting him to share his joke, before smiling shyly at Kaien, who just gave him a small smile in return. Haruka then turned back to Kaiten.

"So stop worrying so much, Kaiten," Haruka continued softly. "Unless you push me towards him, he won't be able to take me away." Kaiten gave him a disbelieving look but Haruka merely shrugged. "I don't think you have to worry about that anyway. I don't think Kakashi-sama wants me. I just remind him of someone, that's all."

Kaiten still looked unconvinced. "Haruka..."

Haruka crossed his arms across his chest and glared at Kaiten. "I still think you're being overly paranoid but I stated my promise again to make you feel better. If you think I'm going to spoil you any more than that, you have another thing coming, mister!" He reached up and grabbed Kaiten's ear as though he was an errant child. The Heaven's Slayer immediately began yelling and protesting. "We have to buy supplies for your mission! Excuse us, Kaien-sama."

Haruka began yanking Kaiten, still shouting his protests and pain, by the ear towards the double doors. But before he could even touch the knob, Kaien's voice stopped him.

"_Haruka._"

The brunet immediately stopped and glanced over his shoulder at the Angel's Sword. They stared at one another as Kaiten watched them with a blank expression.

_They're always like this, _Kaiten thought, feeling as though he suddenly didn't exist. _They have a weird connection in which words are never needed._

Haruka suddenly smiled widely before nodding to Kaien and then yanking Kaiten once more.

"Let's go!"

Kaiten looked back at his brother. If he were anyone else, he would have thought that Kaien looked as expressionless as ever. But since this was his brother, he could see the sorrow in Kaien's eyes.

The double doors closed behind him as he pondered at that untouchable relationship between Kaien and Haruka.

Kaiten's eyes narrowed and flashed.

_I don't like it._

* * *

"Yosh! Now I see why you are a taijutsu Tokubetsu Jounin, Lee!"

"Your youthfully generous compliments humbles me, oh mighty Ameko-san! Such praise from an elite shinobi such as yourself truly makes me want to further persevere and improve on my blooming techniques!"

Ameko and Lee were throwing praises and gleeful laughter at one another as they went through quite an intense bout of taijutsu sparring. Despite the complicated moves and the strength behind each blow, each side seemed to be having the time of their lives.

It was quite a nice thing to watch but also quite odd.

"They're getting along extremely well, aren't they?" Yamato said with a smile at Kakashi. The Copy Nin just glanced up from his _Icha Icha Violence_, gave a "Hn" then looked back down at his book.

Yamato knew that his sempai wasn't really reading the flowery words written on the pages. He was most likely thinking of Haruka or Iruka – or both.

Yamato had also been shocked when he first laid eyes on Haruka. His first thought was that he had died without realizing it; then he thought it odd that Iruka would be the first one to greet him in the afterlife. So then he thought he was seeing a ghost or had been trapped in a genjutsu. But when he learned that the man _wasn't_ Iruka, Yamato still found it extremely hard to believe that someone who could look so much like Iruka – and have Iruka's personality – yet wasn't Iruka could exist in this world.

"That was an awesome match!" Ameko declared as she and Lee slowly walked back towards the traditional house, their breathing heavy from the physical exertion. "We should do it every day while you're here and maybe when we get to Konoha."

"It would be an honour to spar with you, oh youthful Ameko-san!"

Ameko just laughed at Lee's exuberant tone before turning to Yamato and Kakashi.

"Haruka and Kaiten should be back soon," she informed them. "I don't think Kaien-sama wanted Haruka for too long. Then I have to get going to get some last minute stuff done before our departure."

Ah, the discussion Kakashi wanted to have.

"Do you have an idea of when that would be, Ameko-san?" Kakashi questioned, his voice light. Yamato, however, had a feeling that his sempai wasn't as calm underneath as he seemed on the surface.

_Does he want to get as far away from Haruka as possible? Or does he want to stay here with Haruka for as long as possible?_

Ameko just shrugged. "Well, obviously, we can't leave without you recovering even just a bit. That's fine since we're not urgently needed in Konoha anyway. Todou gave me a rough estimation before he left for the hospital and he guessed a week at the _absolute_ minimum." A smirk bloomed on Ameko's face. "If it comes to that, he can easily carry you on his back."

They definitely didn't have a hard time believing that.

A thoughtful expression appeared on Ameko's face as she tilted her head to the side. She regarded Kakashi carefully and just when the Copy Nin was about to open his mouth to ask her about it, Ameko announced her intention.

"It might be good for you to talk a walk Kakashi-san," she declared. "You need to exercise your muscles or they'll become stiff. Don't worry, we'll walk at your pace and not go far – just a little bit more into the village. We'll meet Haruka and Kaiten on the way."

If he were anybody else, Kakashi would have hugged Ameko after hearing her suggestion. With help from Yamato, Kakashi began rising from the futon while Ameko wandered off to find him some comfortable clothes that a foreign shinobi would wear in an ally village. No matter how numb and uncooperative his muscles were, it was no excuse to walk around without at least a few kunai and shuriken on his person.

Finally dressed in black pants with numerous pockets, a navy blue long-sleeved shirt, black sandals and a weapons pouch – with his mask and hitai-ate on of course – the four nin left the warm house.

Although he was a bit stiff and slow, Kakashi was able to walk by himself without too much trouble. Yamato stood by his left side, opposite from his dominant hand and his only visible eye. It was the mixture of Yamato's small and big considerations that made Kakashi value him as a friend and ally. It also helped that his kouhai was always able to easily read his moods and his train of thought.

"We're lucky it's not raining," Yamato commented as he looked up at the dark and heavy sky, which seemed to never change for Amegakure.

Ameko smirked. "The civilians would say, 'Either the sky is calm or the Angel's Sword is happy'."

"What does that mean, oh youthful Ameko-san?" Lee asked boisterously in curiosity.

Ameko's smirk widened. "The civilians believe that Kaien-sama's chakra is so great that his mood affects the weather. Of course, great as his chakra is, he won't change the weather just to suit his mood." She shook her head as though in disbelief that anyone would think their leader could be so selfish. "That would just be a complete and utter waste of chakra!"

Still, she did not refute that his chakra was great enough to influence the weather. It was an absolutely terrifying thought. It was definitely a good thing that Amegakure was an ally of Konoha.

As they entered the village centre, which seemed more and more like a highly industrialized city, the patches of sky that they could see became smaller and smaller as the tall sky scrapers seemed to aim to pierce the heavens. Kakashi had to close his eye for a moment as he remembered a similar image – only with earth instead of metal... The earth jutsu that Iruka performed in the last moments of his life in order to trap the Asura Path of Pain.

"Sempai?"

"I'm fine," Kakashi said lightly as he opened his eye once more and began walking with his usual slouch as though nothing had happened but...

Everything. Absolutely everything in Amegakure no Sato reminded him of his fallen comrade. When he was first assigned this mission – to enter the village he currently hated the most – he knew that it would be painful... But he never expected it to be agonizing. The buildings, the hitai-ate worn by half of the people he passed by, the man who looked like the Deva Path of Pain and then...

_Haruka..._

Haruka with his dark hair and dark eyes. Haruka with the scar over his nose. Haruka with his warm concern and his kind smile. Haruka who was just like Iruka that it was killing Kakashi – and at the same time, giving him such a cruel yet lifting hope that he could not resist...

It was unfair to Haruka, to Iruka and especially to him. Why did things turn out like this? Why couldn't everything just stop and end and maybe he could die-

No. Too many people died for his sake for him to choose the coward's way out. How would he be able to face those on the other side if he wasted all their sacrifice just because he couldn't handle the consequences of his choices, decisions and actions?

He already told himself a long time ago that if he ever died, it would be for _someone else's_ sake, _not_ for his.

"Ah! Jounin-sama!"

Kakashi blinked and then focused his eye on the sight in front of him. Haruka was smiling widely from where he stood a few feet away as Kaiten scowled next to him. Kakashi blinked again and he realized that they were already well within the village and that he had been deeply lost in thought the whole way.

He turned his gaze to Yamato and the younger man slowly shifted his gaze to the left; it was the subtle signal to look around.

That was when Kakashi noticed it. A number of the villagers were quiet and watching them warily. Kakashi, however, was shocked to notice that it wasn't _them _they were looking at with such cautious eyes but...

...Kaiten?

No...

_Haruka!_

"_Haruka-san is not an Ame nin."_

It didn't make sense! Wouldn't the villagers of Ame be more wary of the shinobi from Konoha than someone who has been living among them?

Yet here they were, their eyes on a seemingly oblivious Haruka, while the Konoha shinobi were ignored as though they were no threat.

It was absolutely mind boggling.

"It's good to see you up and about, Kakashi-sama," Haruka said cheerfully as he approached them. It was only when Haruka approached them that Kakashi noticed the villagers' eyes finally settle on the Konoha nin.

"Maa," Kakashi said, his single eye the only visible hint of his false smile, as he reached up to scratch his head. He winced when his upper muscles protested at the action and he slowly lowered his arm. "I'm not too slow when it comes to healing." _It comes with being injured all the time._

"That's good," Haruka said warmly before he turned his attention to Lee and Yamato. "You look a bit flushed, Lee-san."

Lee grinned and did a thumbs-up with his 'good guy' pose. "I had a spar with the lovely Ameko-san!"

Haruka's eyes widened in wonder and Lee's grin widened. "You must be really good to be able to spar with Ameko. I'd like to watch you one day, Lee-san."

"It will be my pleasure, oh kind and youthful Haruka-san!"

"I hope you haven't been bored, Yamato-sama," Haruka said sheepishly.

Yamato shook his head and smiled. "I was watching Ameko-san and Lee spar so I was not bored at all. Also, Ameko-san was kind enough to show us around your village."

"Yeah, Haruka!" Ameko exclaimed indignantly. "How could anyone be bored with me around?"

Kaiten scoffed. "Well, all your yelling and nagging and violence gets old after just a couple of times of seeing it."

Ameko's eyes instantly darkened as Haruka sighed and stepped away from Kaiten. The foolish Deva Path look-alike was instantly tackled to the ground by the fuming kunoichi.

"Just fer that, you useless git, I'll take ye with me to finish our preparations just so ye'd have more time in the presence of my esteemed self!"

With a violent hit to Kaiten's head, the fiery kunoichi dragged the protesting Kaiten off.

"Ameko-" Haruka tried to call out in an almost frantic voice, which made Kakashi and Yamato look sharply at him.

Ameko, however, didn't seem to hear Haruka – or just basically ignored him – as she kept yelling insults to Kaiten while dragging him off.

"SHUT UP, Kaiten! And Haruka," she barked sharply with eyes narrowed so darkly at the long-haired man that Haruka flinched. "Stay here and keep our guests company!" She then shook Kaiten like a terrier would its prey to try to quell his struggles as she dragged him with her.

"Oi Ameko, you unattractive bitch- OW! STOP IT! I don't want to leave Haruka alone- OW! WILL YOU CUT THAT OUT?"

Haruka sighed deeply once more as the two disappeared while Kaiten's protests faded in the distance. He turned to the Konoha nin and offered them a weak smile.

"I'm not sure what exactly Ameko is planning by leaving me here with you," he said hesitantly. "But since we're already here, would you like to see the market? You might find something you'd like."

But the atmosphere had changed. Without the presence of Ameko and Kaiten, the villagers' stares became more hostile and damning.

Haruka was obviously uncomfortable as he fidgeted very slightly. Kakashi instantly realized that he had not been unaware of the wary glances earlier. He had been ignoring them for Kakashi's and the others' sake so that they wouldn't sense that something was amiss. But now that the two Ame nin were gone, the heaviness in the air could no longer be masked.

_Something is definitely wrong, _Kakashi thought as he watched the villagers around them carefully. Out loud, he said, "It's all right Haruka-san. I think we've seen enough-"

Childish laughter caught Kakashi's attention as a group of four children came out from an alley a few metres away from Haruka's left and were obviously playing tag. The one in front had been looking behind her instead of in front and she slammed against Haruka, who had been too nervous and agitated to notice the child in time.

The girl, who looked to be about seven, bounced off the young man and fell on her behind on the half-cement, half-muddy ground. She was dazed for a moment before she looked up to see who she had bumped into. As soon as recognition dawned on her face, her eyes widened, her lips trembled and tears began forming in her eyes.

Haruka immediately knelt in front of her in concern as the children behind the girl gasped.

"Are you all right, little one?" he asked worriedly as he reached for her.

But before he could even touch her, there was a loud SMACK as a fistful of mud, pebbles and sticks that had been picked off the ground hit Haruka on the right side of his head. Haruka's right eye instantly shut as mud and debris entered his eye. He hissed in pain and tried to wipe the mess off his eye.

"Don't touch her you filth!" the biggest of the boys, the one who threw the muck at Haruka, yelled in rage. "You're _dirty_!That's what you get, _you filth_!"

The two other boys in the group copied him and started throwing mud at him. Kakashi and Yamato quickly grabbed Haruka and hoisted him up before he could get gunk in his left eye as well while Lee moved in front of them to shield Haruka from further onslaught.

The boys suddenly seemed to realize that they were dealing with shinobi. Fear entered their eyes but before anyone else can do anything, a tall, bulky Ame villager approached them.

"Get out of here," he ordered the boys and a woman came up and took the crying girl away. The boys followed her but kept on shooting glances back at the shinobi.

"You're guests here so you don't know," the man said gruffly before pointing at Haruka. "But _he's_ not allowed in the village unless he's with Kaiten-sama or one of the other two. So it would be best that you leave already so that no one else would take a shot at him."

Kakashi's eye was blank. "Thank you for the warning."

The man inclined his head before walking away.

"Can you walk, Haruka-san?" Kakashi asked Haruka gently.

"I can," Haruka said quietly as he kept his head bowed. "I'm so very sorry that you had to see that. They're actually good people. They're just scared."

The villagers avoided Kakashi's gaze as they walked out of the village towards Haruka's house at the outskirts. So he didn't actually live out here, where it was the most dangerous, by choice.

_Why? _Kakashi thought fiercely. _Why do they _hate_ him so much?_

But he already knew. He saw it behind all the anger in the villagers' eyes.

They feared _**Haruka**_.

* * *

**A/N: **_**This chapter is dedicated to **_magostar117_**, my first reviewer for the previous chapter! I hope you enjoyed it! **_**=)**

_**Woah! I actually NEED to run off (I'm LATE!) to my job but I was just desperate to post this! I'll probably add more comments in this chapter later on when I get home tonight! (I finish at 9PM! NOOOOOOOO! Gonna be dead tired! ='( ) So patience please! Expect more comments (and probably a bit more editing since I rushed this) later! =D**_

_**Please tell me what you think! I took a long time to get this chapter out, not just because I'm insanely busy, but also because it was a bit difficult to write! So comments would be nice! =)**_

**Ceil Scheherazade**


	6. The Kamui of Change

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto; it's owned by the amazing Masashi Kishimoto!

**Warning:** This may have some mild shounen-ai elements; definitely nothing explicit. This _is _rated T after all.

**The Crying Kamui**

**Chapter 5**

A tense atmosphere surrounded the four men as the Konoha shinobi took Haruka back to his humble house. The injured man made the effort to have a light conversation during the arduous walk. Fortunately, although Kakashi was in no mood to indulge him, Lee and Yamato did their very best to help Haruka salvage his dignity by carrying on light conversations with him.

Tense silence reigned once more when they finally entered the house, Kakashi immediately steered Haruka towards the centre of the living area and ordered him to sit down. Haruka obediently did as he was told as Yamato went to fetch Todou while Lee took a medical kit out of his own bag.

To diffuse the heavy air, Haruka chuckled lightly. "I didn't know that Sharingan no Kakashi is the type of person to be gruff when worried."

Kakashi simply ignored his words before kneeling in front of the injured man and gently brushing his mud and gunk-covered hair away from his shut eye.

"Try to open it if you can," he ordered in a low voice. "We have to clean it or it might get infected. We don't want you losing your eye."

Haruka hissed as his eyelid slowly fluttered open. The eye was an angry red and there was some debris that dirtied it. But all in all, it wasn't as bad as Kakashi first thought it would be. He then began methodically cleaning Haruka's face so that nothing else would get into the long-haired man's eye.

"I was able to close it quickly," Haruka said with a grin despite his twitching eye. "I _am _a shinobi after all!" Then his grin fell away as he frowned. "Actually, I have no right to say that. I should've been able to dodge a child's a throw. But it was a very good throw," Haruka added in a sulking tone.

Kakashi was well aware that Haruka was trying his best to lighten their moods once more. Unfortunately for him, Kakashi was taking none of it. What happened was serious and needed answers.

Why do the citizens of Amegakure no Sato _fear _a seemingly gentle and caring man?

After Kakashi finished cleaning Haruka's face, his gaze shifted to the other man's hair. "I think there's also gum in your hair, Haruka-san." –besides the mud, twigs and small pebbles. What a dirty ground Amegakure no Sato had. Since it was a highly industrialized city, Kakashi thought they would have cemented roads and streets.

Lee silently handed the cleaning solution to Kakashi, who administered a few drops on Haruka's right eye. The Tokubetsu Jounin went around Haruka and tried to clean the mess his long hair had become.

"I think you might have to cut it short, Haruka-san," Lee said forlornly as he tried to pry the thick mud and gum out of Haruka's hair. "Unless you'd rather cut just the strands that have gum on it? But that might make your hair look odd I think since-"

"Cut it, huh?" Haruka murmured softly. A sad smile formed on his face and a mix of emotions was reflected on his expressive face. One was definitely sorrow; another...

Resignation?

All that just because of _hair_?

Haruka was quiet for a moment while the three Konoha nin waited patiently.

"All right," Haruka finally complied. Then he grinned at Kakashi, "Will you please do me the honour, Kakashi-sama?"

Kakashi blinked his eye. "Me?"

A tight smile crossed over Haruka's face. "Lee-san, can you please fetch the scissors in the kitchen cabinet? The last one on the right, please."

"I shall do my best to find it!" Lee exclaimed with a salute before rushing off to the kitchen.

Haruka leaned forward towards Kakashi with a guilty look.

"I don't want Lee-san's haircut."

A small chuckle escaped Kakashi before he could stop himself. Haruka's face instantly brightened as he grinned at the older man. Kakashi felt warmth creep up his own face.

Damn it... Was he...

_Blushing_?

"That's the closest I've ever come to hearing you laugh, Kakashi-sama," Haruka said cheerfully despite the fact he was still covered in muck and his eye was still dirty and an unsettling red.

"I've got it, Haruka-san!" Lee exclaimed as he thrust the scissors' handle towards Kakashi.

The Jounin sighed before going around Haruka and then sitting behind him.

"Please make it nice and even, Kakashi-sama," Haruka said cheekily with a grin as he pointedly looked at Kakashi's uneven hair.

Smirking, Kakashi leaned forward and, being mindful of Lee's presence, whispered lowly at Haruka's ear. "As even as Lee's?"

The look of horror that passed on the younger man's face made Kakashi's smirk widen. Then the sheepish smile that followed turned Kakashi's smirk into a genuine, albeit small, smile.

* * *

"Ameko, what do you think you're doing?"

The beautiful yet rough kunoichi rolled her eyes. "I already told 'ye – we're gonna get some supplies!"

"You know that's not the answer to the question I'm asking you."

Ameko immediately stopped walking, her eyes hooded by her dark hair. She knew without turning around that Kaiten was looking down at her with cold eyes.

_We can't forever be selfish, Kaiten, _Ameko thought sadly as he grip on Kaiten's wrist tightened. _You should have realized that by now..._

"Answer me, Ameko."

_No... It's not that you don't know it yet..._

"If you're not going to, then fucking let go of me so I can go back to Haruka!"

_Rather, you can't accept it._

Forcing an annoyed look on her face, Ameko spun around and glared at him.

"You're smothering the poor guy!" she yelled at Kaiten. "Do you want to be hated?"

Kaiten looked taken-aback by what she said. "What do you mean?"

"You have to allow the guy room to breathe or he'll hate you!" Ameko said with an exasperated groan. "Don't you know _anything_? _Sensitive _people like Haruka need to be treated delicately! He's like... like... like a _flower_!"

Ameko inwardly cringed. _Haruka's going to _kill _me if he ever hears about this!_

Kaiten just looked absolutely puzzled. "A flower?" he asked, his head involuntarily tilting to the side in his confusion.

"Y-yeah..." This time, she actually did cringe. "Erm... H-He needs the proper amount of water and sunlight!" _Really, Ameko? REALLY? _"And, um, oh yeah! If you give him too much water, he'll drown! And if you give him too much sunlight, he'll wither! So you have to do a balancing act!"

_Okay, Haruka'd probably laugh at me first before killing me! What is this crap?_

Kaiten just gave her a droll stare. "Is this another version of the 'birds and the bees' that I don't know about?"

Ameko wondered if there was a word lower than 'idiot' to better describe Kaiten...

"NO!" she yelled, resisting the urge to pound his face in the mud for his idiocy. She should count her blessings – he's actually eating her shit! "I'm saying that your hovering around and hanging onto Haruka is like giving a flower too much water or too much sunlight!"

"Ah!" Kaiten exclaimed as he thumped his fist on his palm as he finally – _finally_ – understood what she was getting at. But then he waved her off.

"But that's non-sense! Haruka _loves _being around me."

Ameko started cracking her knuckles in preparation for one of her ultra punches when she decided against it.

After all, she was able to deflect Kaiten's question.

_Just for a little bit more, _she thought as she continued to drag Kaiten with her to the shinobi supplies stores.

_Yeah... Just for a tiny bit more._

* * *

"I can feel a breeze against my nape!" Haruka exclaimed in delight as he ruffled his newly shortened hair once more.

"Stop moving, Haruka," Todou ordered as he disinfected the last of Haruka's little cuts. "You're lucky I didn't accidentally jab you in the eye while I was cleaning it."

Haruka grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, Todou. It's just that my head feels so light." He then looked over Todou's shoulder at Kakashi. "You're talented even in cutting hair, Kakashi-sama. I never thought I would get such a nice haircut in less than ten minutes!"

Kakashi shrugged. "Maa, it was simple since it was just a straight cut. I didn't have to style it or anything."

Haruka took a few strands of his hair and peered at them. "You mean you also know how to style hair?"

Before Kakashi knew what he was doing, his hand was already patting Haruka's head.

"This cut suits you."

Haruka smiled and he looked younger after having his hair cut. His dark hair was now chin-length and his dark eyes were more visible and drew greater attention. Along with his boyish smile, this Haruka was quite a sight to behold.

At least, to Kakashi.

"You should be good as new," Todou announced after standing up. "Now let me check on you, Kakashi-san."

Haruka's smile dropped and he looked apologetic. "I'm sorry, Kakashi-sama. I can't believe I forgot about your muscles and forced you to move this much."

Kakashi waved his apology off. "There is no need for apologies, Haruka. The fact that you forgot simply means that I am healing spectacularly."

Todou nodded as he inspected Kakashi's legs, arms, torso and eye. "You are looking much better – better than what I expected at this stage. I am very impressed, Kakashi-san."

"As expected from Kakashi-sensei!" Lee exclaimed while Yamato looked relieved at the news. Haruka stood up and dusted a bit of hair off of his shoulders.

"I'll go and make dinner now."

"Let us help," Yamato immediately offered as he too stood up and headed towards the kitchen while Lee followed. Haruka grinned as they passed him then stopped in front of the mirror hanging on the wall near the exit of the living area.

Again, that bittersweet smile crossed his face as Kakashi watched from his place on the floor.

"Is it that sad to say good-bye to your long hair?"

Haruka turned to him, the smile becoming wry. "No, not really. It's been at least three years since I had my hair cut and I kept on growing it for the sake of a friend. I'm just wondering how he'd react."

_Friend? 'He'? _Kakashi thought. Then a face flashed in his mind – one that looked identical to the only face that could freeze his blood in solid rage. _Could he be talking about that guy? Kaiten?_

Haruka sighed then squared his shoulders and tried to be up-beat. "Well, he just has to get used to it!" He grinned at Kakashi. "Now please excuse me, Kakashi-sama, as I prepare dinner. Todou, you're eating here, all right?"

"All right," Todou agreed as he carefully packed his medical supplies back into his kit. "And Haruka?"

Haruka immediately stopped and looked over his shoulder at the giant questioningly.

Without shifting his attention from the bandages he was putting away, Todou said, "If he makes a fuss, I'll knock some sense into him."

Haruka stared at him for a moment before nodding. "Thank you, Todou."

The giant just nodded then went to a corner of the living area and promptly closed his eyes. In a few seconds, his breathing became even and regular, signalling that he was asleep. Haruka smiled fondly at him before looking at Kakashi.

"He's been busy getting everything in the hospital settled and equipped while he is away," Haruka explained. "You're getting much better very quickly Kakashi-san. You might actually leave earlier than expected." He then gave him a final grin before disappearing into the kitchen.

_That's true, _Kakashi mused as he stared at the spot where Haruka had been standing. _Then I probably won't see Haruka for a long time._

And although he wasn't quite sure of the reason yet, his heart lurched at the thought.

_Will I miss him because I am genuinely fond of him? Or will I hate leaving him because I will no longer have a warm, breathing, living person to remind me of __**him**__?_

_Is it Haruka I will miss? Or..._

_Is it Iruka?_

* * *

"I'm looking for a specific word," Kaiten drawled casually. "It's a word for something useful – something vital and important. Actually, make that several somethings. And guess what! This something begins with an 's' too! It's just escaping me right now... Se- no. Sa- no. So- no, wait, I'm getting closer. Su- Ah, yes! Supplies! No, why was I searching for it again? Ah, yes, yes. Tell me, Ameko... WHY THE HELL ARE WE HEADED HOME EMPTY-HANDED EXCEPT FOR A BAG FULL OF NIKUMAN?"

Ameko looked completely unperturbed as she munched on her meat bun. "'Coz they're absolutely delicious, that's why."

Kaiten glared fiercely at her. "Then what the hell happened to that shit about yanking me away from Haruka to go get _supplies_?"

Ameko just shrugged. "It's not my fault the store was closed."

Kaiten could feel several veins throbbing viciously at his temples. "We would've made it in time if YOU HADN'T STOPPED TO TASTE EVERY POSSIBLE FLAVOUR OF MEAT BUN IN THAT NEW STORE!"

"No need 'ta yell at me," Ameko grumped. Her eyes then lit up as realization hit her. "Ah, you want one, don't ya? Why didn't you just say so?"

"NO I DON'T WANT A FREAKING MEAT BUN! I WANT TO KNOW WHY YOU DRAGGED ME AWAY FROM- MMMPPHHH!"

Ameko stuffed one of the larger buns in his widely open mouth. Kaiten growled at her but chewed the meat bun carefully to Ameko's satisfaction.

"We're almost home, twit," Ameko said as she continued walking. Haruka's house was already visible.

"..."

Ah, a quiet Kaiten was always the best Kaiten to be in company with.

Although she was calm and cool on the outside, Ameko was inwardly worried. How did the people react to Haruka being at the heart of the village without her, Kaiten or Todou? She sincerely hope that everything went smoothly and that Haruka was all right.

"We're here!" she announced as she approached the door with Kaiten right beside her. They both heard Lee enthusiastically declare, "I shall Youthfully get the Door!"

The door slid open widely and they were met with the sight of a widely grinning Tokubetsu Jounin.

"Welcome back, Ameko-san and Kaiten-san! We are nearly finished with our dinner preparations! We are just finishing up on the Presentation of our Blooming Hard Work! It will hopefully be Nutritious while at the same time Dance upon your Youthful Taste Buds!"

Ameko smiled. "We're lookin' forward to it."

"Welcome home, Ameko, Kaiten," Haruka's voice said merrily.

Ameko didn't see the reason immediately since Lee was standing right in front of her but without warning, Kaiten disappeared from her side and the sound of a body hitting the wall resounded in a suddenly quiet room.

It was the calm before the storm.

"WHAT IS THIS?"

Ameko gently but firmly pushed Lee out of her way; she could only see Kaiten's tense back hunched over the living room wall but she knew that Haruka was pinned between him and said wall.

"What are you doing, Kaiten!" Ameko barked as she ran to them. She noticed that Yamato's gaze kept on shifting from Kaiten to Haruka then to Ameko, seeing if this behaviour was all right or acceptable.

Kaiten's fist slammed against the wall beside Haruka's head. "ANSWER ME!"

Ameko was about to yank him off but suddenly Kaiten shot her a look from over his shoulder that froze her in her tracks.

_SHIT! _

"Kaiten, I got a haircut," Haruka said calmly. "Do you like it?"

"Who did it?" Kaiten asked, his voice deceptively contained.

"It doesn't matter," Haruka replied, still sounding calm as though he wasn't pinned against the wall by someone who could possibly kill him in a tantrum. "It was by my choice."

"WHO DID IT?"

"I did."

Ameko winced as Haruka gasped very softly. They both stiffened when Kaiten turned his full attention to Kakashi.

Kakashi was calmly standing at the centre of the living room, seemingly relaxed and at ease. But if one looked very closely at him, he was undoubtedly prepared to spring at any threat.

The house was suddenly clogged with murderous intent.

"_**You**_," Kaiten growled, his rough voice unrecognizable. "_**You-**_"

Haruka quickly wrapped his arms around Kaiten's middle and tried to pull him away from Kakashi.

"Kaiten, stop!"

"Let go of me, Haruka! Let go of me NOW!" Kaiten commanded as he tried prying Haruka's arms away from him. He probably could have done it in an instant if he wasn't being gentle. But even in a rage, he could not hurt Haruka.

"Why are you so worked up over hair?" Kakashi asked quietly, his eye piercing in its intensity.

"IT'S A PROMISE!" Kaiten roared furiously. "It's between Haruka and I! An outside wouldn't understand! An _**outsider**_ with _**no connection**_ to Haruka has _**no right**_ to being in his life, especially someone who doesn't see _**him**_ but only sees someone who is _**dead**_ and _**gone**_!"

Seeing Haruka struggling to hold on to someone who looked so much like Pain was enough – it was already more than enough. He was already swamped with memories that threatened to crush his control.

But those words were a lance that just broke that final hold on the precarious control he had kept all these years.

The only thing beyond control...

...is chaos.

* * *

**A/N: **_**Firstly, I apologize for the insanely long wait. *cringe* I just realized this will be my first post for 2011! I'm truly busy at the moment so sorry for the relatively short chapter with a questionable quality despite the long wait! Who knew post-grad work could be so challenging (sarcasm?) but I have final exams coming up in roughly a month thennnnn I'll be on an overseas trip for the whole of my mid-year break to the U.S. of A., which I haven't been to since I was... um... 11 years old? So I at least wanted to get **_**something **_**out! Anyway, enough rambling! Again, I apologize for the long wait! I'm sorry about my other stories as well! **_

_**This chapter is dedicated to, for the first time, one of the fanfiction writers I admire most, **_KakashiKrazed_**! I just LOVE your stories and your reviews! **_

_**I received more than 10 reviews for the last chapter! *does a victory dance* I can't remember whose reviews I've replied to but these beloved reviewers are:**_

The-Lady-Smaell – _**Please forgive your most humble subject for being so useless and unreliable! **_**TT_TT**_** Please forgive me for being evil to and leaving you all with a cliff-hanger. Believe me, it pains me as much as it pains you. Hope you liked this chapter!**_

magostar117_** – No I haven't given up although I'm moving like a snail... *sigh* I hope this chapter keeps your interest. I was feeling a bit iffy as I finished writing it. It's missing something but I can't figure it out yet...**_

lilrocker_** – Love triangle? What love triangle? Look! There's a pig in the sky! *ducks and runs away* I'm not saying anything! Judge for yourself! =P**_

Prescripto13_** – Aww, thanks! I hope I get the same compliment for this chapter... *winces* I really hope it isn't too confusing...**_

jazzy2may_** – I cut Haruka's hair! I CUT IT! (Well, technically, Kakashi did) It's up to the reader whether that's sad or not... And why am I talking about his hair in my reply to you? Oh, I think it was the word 'sad'. I hope you liked this chapter! =P**_

thesouldofthegreatbell_** – Firstly, I must say that your reviews never cease to make me blush. *blushes* Yup, the Deva Path was Yahiko's body. And I don't want to give much away but I thought of Haruka's name carefully before I finally decided on it. I really hope you like this chapter too! Thanks so much for your comments! =D**_

Ryu Earth_** – Well, the reason isn't revealed in this chapter yet as well... But it will be in a few chapters or so. Thanks for your patience!**_

Behan_** – Keep on guessing! It's fun! =P I actually think there's going to be a point soon where my story will become predictable. But I'm very flattered that you don't think that is the case, hehehe...**_

xLightningx_** – Thanks! Here's a new chapter! Please tell me what you think of it! =)**_

Livvi18_** – Yay! A new reviewer! Thank you so much for your compliments! I'm hoping that this chapter wasn't too confusing with all the shifts in settings and perspectives... I'm looking forward to hearing from you!**_

_**Again, thank you so much everyone!**_

**Ceil Scheherazade**


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